Month: December 2004

An Uphill Battle In Kansas City

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An article in the 12/05/04 edition of the Kansas City Star by Paul Horsley reports that the city manager wants to move a proposed parking garage to location which would force patrons to traverse up a steep hill to get from the garage to the planned performing arts center (something elderly or disabled patrons would not be able to accomplish without assistance). The city manager states the move would save $10 …

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Classical Disconnect

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It’s no secret classical music isn’t part of the mainstream cultural consciousness, but it wasn’t always that way.  Where did things change?  How did a country with such a relatively short cultural history move from using traditional classical music as a benchmark for “legitimacy” to completely removing music as a cornerstone of cultural awareness? I published an article at The Partial Observer today which examines precisely those issues.

Contract? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Contract

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What’s the best way to deal with a grievance? At the San Francisco Opera it seems they prefer to pretend they don’t exist.  However, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) has decided that after nearly five years and 31 grievances (and more on the way), it’s time to force the issue by going to federal court. I spoke with Nora Heiber, the AGMA Northern California Area Representative, about the ongoing …

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Post Concessionary Thoughts: Do’s And Don’ts

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I quoted Sam Bergman in yesterday’s article as saying:

“Agreeing to this contract was the right thing to do, simply because many of the messes that exist in our organization are not the fault of the current upper management team, which has been on the job for only a year. It seemed only logical to allow a new group of managers an adequate period of time to reverse the years of mismanagement that preceded their arrival.”

And that’s a very wise and reasonable point of view.  But what happens if an upper management team fails in their attempts to improve the organization’s situation and, as a result, can not deliver on their part of the contract?

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More Details From The Minnesota Contract

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The recently accepted contract at Minnesota has provided another concessionary end to a drawn out negotiations.  A recent article in the Star-Tribune by Michael Anthony outlines some of the contract’s results. The article reports that the players have accepted a wage freeze in the first year and a delayed final increase until the final six months of their three year contract.  They also accepted a proposal to increase their deductible and …

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