In short, “not much.” It seems that both sides have agreed to play and talk under the terms and conditions from the expired contract. However, the term play is used loosely in this sense as there are no concerts scheduled until October. I’m planning on posting something more about all of this later in the week once my work deadlines have loosened up but in the meantime…
Negotiations
A Comprehensive Look At Detroit
The 8/24/2010 edition of the Detroit Free Press published an article by Mark Stryker that digs into the details surrounding the ongoing, and increasingly entrenched, negotiations between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and their musicians. Stryker’s article focuses on the fundamental issue of musician compensation: its history, current standing, and potential future…
Detroit Enters The Eleventh Hour
Today marks the final week of the current collective bargaining agreement between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and its musicians. Over the past few days, a few articles of note have popped up that are worth your time. The first is from an unusual source in that it is a blog post from someone outside the field…
Detroit; In Their Own Words
Chris Felcyn of Detroit’s WRCJ 90.9 FM recently sat down with representatives from Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) management and musicians and allowed them to present statements about the current negotiations. Felcyn then presented those comments from DSO Cellist Haden McKay and DSO President and Executive Director Anne Parsons on his program, The Well-Tempered Wireless. In an age where print outlets continue to dominate, having an audio resource where listeners can take inflection and tone into account is a luxury…
The Negotiation Process: How It Works
The first step in understanding how your local orchestra functions as an organization is to understand the basic principles behind the document that deals with nearly every facet of its operations: the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Every major orchestra in America, regardless of union status, has some form of a contract that exists as a result of collective bargaining. This contract governs all issues related to musician compensation, benefits, work conditions, and the dismissal process.