Take a look at the salaries quoted in the article below (emphasis added) and compare that to your current situation and see if you can sympathize with these musicians? Are they so shielded from the real world by their artsy-unionized bubble that they not know of the current economic crisis in the country let alone in the State of Michigan or even worse that of Detroit? Do they not even see that they are lucky to be working at all?
Clueless I say, clueless!
DETROIT - Musicians who refused to accept steep pay cuts demanded by the financially struggling Detroit Symphony Orchestra have hit the picket lines.
Dozens of tuxedo-clad musicians began picketing Monday morning at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in downtown Detroit, as a French horn quartet played in the background.
Musicians had offered a 22 percent reduction in the first year to $82,000.
No bargaining sessions are scheduled. The musicians union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
Messages seeking comment were left Monday with symphony management officials.
The man interviewed above states; "It's not about less money. We are willing to give and willing to sacrifice. It's about preserving the quality of this great orchestra."
If that is the prevailing thought then one must wonder the reason for the strike?
No, just words in front of a camera in an effort to garner sympathy for an otherwise unsympathetic cause.
The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors Detroit Symphony Orchestra
As a Board, we are extremely disappointed that negotiations with our Players have reached an impasse and that they have now made the choice to strike. We believe this is the worst possible outcome of these talks and we hope that it will end quickly so the music can return to Orchestra Hall.
The Board is in unanimous support of our bargaining team, headed by DSO Chairman Emeritus, Jim Nicholson, who is leading these negotiations. These are extraordinarily difficult times for Detroit and for the DSO resulting in extraordinarily difficult issues and extraordinarily difficult and painful negotiations. We recognize the Musicians' legitimate concerns but as a Board we are solidly united in our support of Anne Parsons, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and of her management team and we are united in our conviction that we cannot budge on the salary issue that is at the heart of these discussions. Anne’s team must stand firm despite the pressures to do otherwise.
We all love this institution and have utmost respect for the Musicians who are its lifeblood, but as a Board and a management team our first responsibility is to ensure the future viability of the entire organization. The Musicians are fighting for artistic excellence for the DSO and we wholeheartedly join them in this fight but there can be no artistic excellence without viability and that's why we firmly support Anne's exceptional leadership throughout these negotiations.
We hope the Players will be realistic as negotiations progress, that a hurtful, lingering strike can be avoided, and that together - musicians, board, and audience - we will once again make and enjoy the majestic music that has come to be the signature sound of the DSO.
