All Entries in the "Labor Relations" Category
AFM Calls Out The League
The August, 2010 edition of International Musician published an article by Christopher Durham, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Symphonic Services Division (SSD) Director and Assistant to the President, titled Quality Leadership Is Essential in Difficult Times. Don’t let the obvious nature of the title fool you, the article essentially levies blame on much of the hardships throughout the field as the result of and in response to the practices and policies endorsed and implemented the League of American Orchestras… (more…)
Remember Shreveport?
It has been nearly one year since we last checked in on the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and their work stoppage but good news is the reward for patience as both sides announced an agreement on 7/19/2010. The new two year agreement produces a 2010/11 season that tentatively begins in November. Terms include retaining the salaried core albeit at a 45 percent reduction from the previous contract… (more…)
Extra Strength Crazy In Honolulu
After awhile, the repetition associated with labor disputes can get pretty boring; each side tosses the same old accusations and language back and forth and the outcomes are pretty much unsurprising. It is almost as formulaic as Hollywood’s never ending stream of buddy-cop or teenage-angst flicks. But every now and then, a group emerges to offer up something so crazy it would make the Mad Hatter whistle in awe. And just last week, the current Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (HSO) leadership tossed out an item so irrational, it left poor Mr. Hatter speechless… (more…)
What The Richardson Symphony Should Have Done
The Sunday, 7/10/2010 edition of the Dallas Morning News published an article by music critic Scott Cantrell that calls the labor dispute between the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (RSO) and its musicians a “showdown.” That description certainly adds to the western flavor of events, nonetheless, the RSO could have employed a much better solution that would have avoided all of this conflict… (more…)
Defining The Debate In Richardson
The labor dispute between the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (RSO) and their musicians, represented by Local 72-147 of the American Federation of Musicians, has crossed a new threshold in the war of rhetoric. Email messages from both parties dated 7/8/2010 and addressed to RSO musicians attempt to define the issues that characterize the dispute… (more…)
In Richardson, The Battle Begins
It seems that the board of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (RSO) has decided to discontinue bargaining with their musicians in advance of the current collective bargaining agreement expiration date of August 31, 2010. They also informed patrons in a letter dated 7/1/2010 that in addition to suspending negotiations, they “will not be renegotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Musician.” UPDATE: 4:00pm CT, 7/2/2010 – AFM places Richardson Symphony Orchestra on their International Unfair List… (more…)
Charleston Musicians Reject Latest Contract Offer
Since cancelling the end of their 2009/10 series, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has been negotiating with their musicians with the goal of securing an interim collective bargaining agreement while the organization engages in what it calls a restructuring of its organizational and operating model. The latest waypoint in that process took place on 5/20/2010 when the Players Association of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (PACSO) voted down the CSO’s latest proposal… (more…)
The Sound Of Fury
Have you ever wondered what labor trouble sounds like? Anyone in this business long enough likely has a story or two of inappropriate public behavior and/or actions on part of musicians and managers alike but these sorts of things usually remain in-house. But in the digital age you can bring the indoors out and that’s precisely what happened in the Richardson Symphony Orchestra as music director, Anshel Brusilow, was captured in an audio recording allegedly using rehearsal time to chastise the musicians and call one player out in particular over a labor action… (more…)
If You Can’t Join ‘Em, Beat ‘Em
In an interesting turn of events in Charleston, one of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) concert sponsors has decided to present a cancelled pops concert on their own. The First Federal bank will be presenting the May 1st Starlight Pops concert using members from the recently-suspended CSO under the director of Alex Agrest (CSO core member). First Federal is selling tickets directly through their website as well as at the gate on the day of the event… (more…)
Contract News Out Of Detroit
The 3/18/2010 edition of the Detroit Free Press published an article by Mark Stryker about the ongoing negotiations between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and their musicians. The big news is although both sides were engaged in talks for nearly a year to modify the existing contract before its expiration date, they haven’t been able to reach an agreement. Since the expiration date is this August, both sides agreed that it makes better sense to simply roll the talks over into regularly scheduled negotiations. On the surface, this might seem troubling, but it’s actually a good sign… (more…)
Claims Of “Gross Mismanagement And Incompetence” In Honolulu
According to two news reports (here and here), the Honolulu Symphony Musicians presented a filing this week that “(Based) on its history of gross mismanagement and incompetence …management is incapable of the task reorganization and a Chapter 11 trustee should be appointed, or, in the alternative, the case should be converted to Chapter 7 or dismissed.” This comes barely a month after an article here from 2/8/2010 which speculated on whether Chapter 7 liquidation might be a better alternative than Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy… (more…)
Updates In Seattle
It was an eventful weekend for stakeholders at the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (SSO) as the ensemble crossed the latest benchmark in their ongoing labor dispute. On Sunday 1/17/2010, the musicians unanimously rejected a contract proposal from management and although they have already passed a strike authorization, the musicians have stated that they do not plan to initiate any work stoppage at the present time… (more…)
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Adaptistration is authored by orchestra consultant Drew McManus and since its launch in 2003, the blog has become standard reading for arts administrators and arts administration programs throughout the world.
