Musicians in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Texas are now playing a happy tune following a December 27th ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that says Musicians in Symphony Orchestras are Employees with the freedom to join Unions – and not independent contractors.

Members of the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra sought to join the American Federation of  Musicians (AFM) and the Union filed a  petition for an election, but an NLRB Regional Director ruled the Musicians were independent contractors and thus ineligible for Union Representation.

The NLRB Board’s 2-to-1 decision reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the region for further action.  Citing the Lancaster ruling, the NLRB issued decisions the following day that the Musicians in the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts and the Plano Symphony Orchestra in Texas are also employees with the right to join a Union.

For more on the cases, visit the NLRB here and the Bureau of National Affairs’ Daily Labor Report (subscription required) here.