Life After Near Death In Detroit?

Yesterday’s announcement from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) musicians about their willingness to return to work without a contract is the closest thing the group has had to hope in some time. But before everyone begins rejoicing, there are conditions in the form of both sides agreeing to binding arbitration as a means to an end for the five month old strike…

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Breaking News From Detroit: Musicians Propose Returning To Work

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Musicians (DSO) issued a press statement at 1:00pm ET today stating they intend to hold a press conference at 2:00pm ET to announce that they are proposing to return to work under the conditions DSO management imposed in October that initiated the strike (last updated 6:50pm ET)…

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Detroit, Wisconsin, And The National Union Movement

Amidst last week’s Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) discussion threads, a reader asked about my thoughts on whether or not the DSO dispute is part of the growing union debate that began in Wisconsin. Since the question was posed, I’ve given it some considerable thought and have decided that whether or not any connection ever existed moot. Simply put, they’re connected now whether they want to be or not…

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Detroit Poll Friday

It’s been an eventful week in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) labor dispute. In particular, the brouhaha surrounding the Detroit News coverage of the replacement musician scheme set culture blogs and social media platforms ablaze. Speculation about intent flourished and although we had a number of productive discussions here, I realized that I never actively solicited an opinion. So it’s high time to rectify that…

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