The AFM International Unfair List, Defined

Although it has been in effect for months now, some folks aren’t aware that the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) placed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) on their International Unfair List per request of AFM Local 5 (the office which represents the DSO musicians). Although this isn’t an unusual course of action during a work stoppage, not everyone is aware of what this decision entails… How It Is Defined According to …

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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…

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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…

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Editorial Cartoon: Brusilow’s Big Top

It seems that the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (RSO) situation is catching the attention of a diverse cross section of readers including none other than Dixon, the ever-sharp mind behind the hit orchestra biz comic strip, Who’s Minding The Score? Apparently, the entire to-do has him so inspired that he went out and bought a box of crayons in order to draw an editorial cartoon in blazing techknowcolor*…

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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…

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