Crowdsourcing Labor Disputes

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Norman Lebrecht pointed out an interesting development in the ongoing Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) strike in that the musicians recently received a donation from the crowdsource funding platform they’ve been using to raise money. Specifically, GoFundMe.com decided to donate $1,000 to the FWSO musicians’ GoFundMe project, which helped put them over their $25,000 goal. That’s a fascinating human interest story in and of itself but the other intriguing angle is …

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Negotiation Update 2016

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Most professional orchestra collective bargaining agreements expire during the summer months and since the economic downturn, it is increasingly common to see groups continue negotiating past the current agreement’s expiration date. A decade ago, that used be cause for alarm but in today’s environment, it is practically standard operating procedure assuming groups don’t manage to wrap things up months in advance. Last season witnessed nearly a dozen middle to large budget …

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Fort Worth Symphony Musicians Strike

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The musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) initiated a work stoppage by calling a strike at 1:30pm ET on Thursday, 9/8/2016. According to the official press release from the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local which represents the musicians, AFM Local 72-147, the strike was called following that morning’s rehearsal. An article by Michael Granberry in the 9/8/2016 edition of the Dallas Morning news reports that the strike was …

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Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Musicians Reject Tentative Agreement

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In the wake of negotiation clouds from the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is contributing to the storm front thanks to being poised for a work stoppage following a recent vote by musicians to reject their employer’s latest offer. What makes this situation unusual is the musicians voted down the concessionary offer even after the four-year agreement was recommended by their Local Union. Typically, the musicians’ negotiation committee …

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Hurry Up And Wait In Fort Worth

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Even though the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) managed to avoid a work stoppage thanks to an eleventh hour one-year agreement, that doesn’t mean it prevented things from continuing to turn ugly. The latest development involves the musicians staging a sit-in at FWSO offices on Thursday, March 24, 2016 to protest what they defined as the employer’s “unilateral cancellation of all scheduled negotiation sessions.” The musicians released the following statement in …

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