Following a tense week of labor negotiations between the musicians' union for the Seattle Symphony and Opera and the management, all agreed to a contract extension late Friday, giving them until January 31 to work out the details of a new deal.

The Seattle Symphony and Opera Players' Organization (SSOPO) took their complaints to the street last week, handing out leaflets at Benaroya decrying a proposed 15 percent wage cut and publicly announcing a strike authorization—a possible but not imminent strike. Contract negotiations started this summer and failed to reverse "concessionary trends" the SSOPO said it had endured since 2005, according to a union release.

With new leadership at the symphony (music director Ludovic Morlot and executive director Simon Woods have both joined within the last year), "we are entering a new era at the Seattle Symphony," cellist David Sabee said in the release. "And [we] need to develop a compensation package reflective of this new period in order to uphold the artistic integrity of the Symphony and attract and retain the highest quality musicians."

The Seattle Opera, on the other hand, faces a $1 million shortfall following its 2011-2012 season.

Read on for prior coverage of the SSOPO labor dispute.