To: Tamara Door, President & CEO, Downtown Denver Partnership
From: Pete Vriesenga, President, Denver Musicians Association
Re: Make Music Denver, 2013

Dear Ms. Door,

The Denver Musicians Association (AFM, AFL-CIO) represents 800 professional musicians in the region, from Colorado’s largest performing organizations to those who perform in restaurants, weddings and at special events. Professional musicians play a very large role in sustaining a culture of entertainment and resulting economic benefit to Downtown Denver and surrounding communities.

Last year at this time I received an email from Stephanie Davidowitz offering to meet to consider how to involve the DMA in Make Music Denver. My April 28 reply applauded DDP for encouraging community members and amateur musicians to be a part of your Festival. I also offered a simple and gracious reminder that professional musicians should be fairly compensated for their services.

Nothing ever came from that effort and it’s now confirmed that DDP is once again seeking professional musicians on the condition that they will perform for free. The only other change I note is that I have been removed from your mailing list.

We will continue to reach out to you with the hope of turning Make Music Denver into proud, community event that no longer exploits professional talents. Until such time we shall educate and warn our membership of the damage that DDP is inflicting on our industry.

Sincerely,

Pete Vriesenga, DMA President
Comments

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Saint Paul, Minnesota (April 20, 2013) – The Musicians of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) said today they have voted to use a U.S. mail option to decide whether to ratify the Society’s latest proposal. This will enable further clarification of language in that proposal and would also provide the opportunity for all Musicians to vote.

Musicians did ratify the American Federation of Musicians Integrated Media Agreement and its Addendum today, both of which were specifically negotiated for the SPCO.

The Musicians of the SPCO have been locked out for more than 24 weeks. Their contract expired September 30, 2012. Management imposed the lockout on October 21, 2012 following three weeks where the Musicians continued to “play and talk.”

For more information, go to their web site www.musiciansspco.org

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Thursday, March 28, 20132, 5:30 PM
Food & Beverages Available at 5:00 PM

MEETING AGENDA: Guest Presenter: Cacie Carganilla, Marketing/Business  Development Officer, lectrical Federal Credit Union.    Since 1953, EFCU has exclusively served the financial needs of various Denver area labor unions and their families with the only unionized office staff of any financial institution in the state of Colorado. www.electricalfcu.org

Paying Taxes for Exposure … or stipends
What do Denver Arts & Venues and Augustana Arts have in common?
ANSWER: They’re both publicly-funded and offer musicians “a stipend” for professional service. Arts & Venues needs a band to play background music at a reception “for the Cultural Community” in Denver and Augustana Arts is offering a stipend to members of Musica Sacra to perform in the Buell Theater.

Anyone care to “volunteer” to perform for the opening of a new Light Rail Station on the leg to Golden? Where will this stop? Must we all Pay to Play even when public funds are involved? Many interests beyond the DMA should be joining in our fight to preserve Colorado’s prevailing wage, but their silence is now deafening … and funded.

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For immediate release from the National Symphony Orchestra
Committee

March 20, 2013

The musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra stand in support of our esteemed colleagues, the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, as they continue their courageous struggle for a just resolution to their labor dispute. After examining the facts available, it is very difficult for us in Washington, DC to understand what intentions the San Francisco Symphony management has that would be furthered by their hard-lined stance. It seems that those intentions are not artistic ones. We do fully understand, however, the intentions of world-class musicians to remain at the very top of their profession. We believe they fully deserve to retain and reasonably improve the compensation and benefits they have gained over decades of carefully measured progress, designed for the long-term healthy growth of the entire organization.

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For immediate release from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Members Committee

March 19, 2013.

The Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra express our support for the Musicians for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in their effort to achieve a fair contract. As has been shown in international tours, recordings, and in front of a loyal and expanding audience in northern California, the San Francisco Symphony is one of the great orchestras of the world, and deserves financial support equivalent to its success and stature. This contract negotiation echoes what has become a familiar story across the nation. Many orchestras, regardless of their financial condition, have faced lockouts, strikes, and devastating cuts in personnel, wages and benefits. The similarity in goals, methods, and language used by their employers, reflects an ideologically driven collusion to severely reduce the standard of living of many professional classical orchestral musicians. In recent years many orchestra boards seem more interested in construction projects and expanding staff than in supporting music and musicians.

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There is a company traveling around the country attempting to hire our musicians for the purpose of recording music for a new television show (The Choir), based around the production of choirs. The AFM has been in contact with this company (Shed Music US) for the purpose of signing the appropriate AFM Agreement for this show. Unfortunately, they have chosen not to sign with us and have managed to slip into three of our Locals that we know of and record their shows.

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Musicians claim symphony is disingenuous on finances

By Negotiating Committee Chair Susan Pardue, Andy Bruck, Kevin Casseday,
Anna Genest, Jorge Pena and Peter Wright

Florida Times-Union
December 21, 2012

The Dec. 4 Times-Union quoted Jacksonville Symphony Association Board Chair-elect Martin Connor saying, “It’s hard to exaggerate the seriousness of our problem.”

The article continued: “He was talking about the operating deficits the symphony has been experiencing for years and the accumulated debt, which he says is about $3 million.”

Actually the Symphony Association exaggerates its problems with ease.

In November 2007, then-Board Chair James Van Vleck claimed that the “JSA has accumulated an approximate $3 million deficit since 2000.”

The number of years that the $3 million figure has remained constant has prompted an investigation of the audited financial statements.

The results reveal that in years it has to negotiate with orchestra
musicians, the association transfers out and restricts assets from the operating fund and inflates the draw on its line of credit.
Source: Florida Times-Union

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TIS THE SEASON… As we approach the holidays, for many of us it’s a festive time of year as we look forward to spending time celebrating with our family and friends. Yet, there are many people in our communities that this time of year is not “happy”, “wonderful”, “joyous”, nor “cheerful”. Each year, Labor’s Community Agency asks for help to replenish the Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund, which is primarily used to assist union members, their families, and the community with emergency assistance during time of crisis or need. Hunger, homelessness, and despair continue to affect our community. Requests for help continue to be unprecedented with the poor economy and continued job loss and Labor’s Community Agency has become overburdened. You can help… your generosity will make a difference. Please help us help those in need by contributing to Labor’s Community Agency’s Annual Emergency Assistance Fund Donation Drive. Together we can bring hope to those in need!
LEARN MORE

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South Florida Musicians Association Encourages Boycott of Palm Beach Symphony

With no explanation, The Palm Beach Symphony has replaced virtually all of the orchestra’s musicians for the 2012-2013 season. Many of the musicians had performed for the Symphony for nearly a decade or more. According to Symphony Executive Director Michael Finn, music director Ramon Tebar is in charge of the orchestra roster, and therefore would be responsible for the replacements.

These musicians have dedicated their time, talents and efforts for many years to building the Symphony, despite its offering much less than full-time work or the benefits of secure working conditions. The decision to replace nearly the entire roster of musicians is further mystifying in light of the musicians’ loyalty to the organization and consistent praise in the press.

Therefore, South Florida Musicians Association is encouraging patrons, donors, and musicians to demand an explanation from the Palm Beach Symphony management and Board and to boycott the Symphony until this obvious wrong is rectified.

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On Nov. 8th, 2012, a peaceful march was organised in Yaoundé by the Musicians Union of Cameroon, in order to protest against the Port of Douala’s reiterated refusal to pay copyright royalties to artists. This demonstration was harshly repressed by the police forces on instructions of the General Delegate to the national security. Artists walked about 3 kilometers before they started to be brutally assaulted and beaten.

More than 500 artists including Anne-Marie Nzié (pictured – aged 85) and the SYCAMU President, Roméo DIKA (who is also Vice-President of the International Federation of Musicians), were dragged to the ground and beaten with batons and fists. 63 of them were thrown into jail and only released after more than seven hours of detention. The others were transported in trucks and locked up for more than 10 hours. Romeo Dika is now accused by some media to have prepared an insurrection, and may be sentenced by life imprisonment or receive the death penalty.
Sign Petition

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The musicians of the SPCO need our financial support. We ask, and encourage, all the orchestras of ICSOM to consider making a financial donation to the cause. A donation from your treasury, or a collection taken by the members of your Players’ Association, would be of great assistance. We are confident that all of the musicians in our ICSOM orchestras are eager to stand with their colleagues in St. Paul.
Read On

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Last weekend, the musicians of the Spokane Symphony overwhelmingly rejected a ‘last-best-and-final’ contract offer from the Spokane Symphony Society. The offer included a reduction in wages from $17,460 to $15,132, with further reductions applied to those who cannot be available for symphony work in the summer. Moreover, the attendance policy would be tightened, making it even more difficult for musicians to supplement their employment by performing elsewhere. Finally, concessions regarding work rules made in exchange for higher salaries would remain in place, despite the rollback of salaries to levels equivalent to those of 2002.
Read On

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As you are all no doubt aware, the musicians of the Indianapolis Symphony have been egregiously locked out by their management for over four weeks, and the musicians are taking a courageous stand to protect their organization and preserve the investment that the citizens of Indianapolis have made in their historic orchestra for 80 years. The musicians have made six different proposals that would allow them to return to the stage, all of which have been rejected. The musicians are paying their own health insurance premiums in order to care for their families, and the management has already canceled all concerts through October 14. We have all followed the press accounts of this negotiation and seen the destructive proposals by management that would permanently alter the ability of the organization to serve its community.
Read On

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You may have heard from Pandora, asking you to contact Congress to support their “fairness” bill, the Internet Radio Fairness Act. But Pandora isn’t telling you the whole story: the bill would slash paychecks to artists and labels simply to line Pandora’s pockets.

We need you to write Congress now and tell them to SAY NO TO SLASHING MUSIC CREATORS’ PAY.

The truth is that Pandora’s dishonest proposal would be devastating to music creators. And while Pandora’s misleading campaign claims that Pandora is suffering under the current, fair system of compensation, nothing could be further from the truth. Pandora is expected to clear $600 million in revenues next year under the current system, and has seen year to year revenue growth that would be the envy of many businesses and families in this time of slow economic growth.

Please CLICK HERE to send a message to your Senators and Representative, asking them to oppose this bill.

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A petition has been established to support the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra.

We’d like to encourage musicians everywhere to sign this petition, and we also encourage you to share the link with all of your friends through e-mail blasts and your social networking sites.

The petition is titled “Support Keeping World-Class Musicians in the
Minnesota Orchestra” and you can sign the petition at this link:
CLICK HERE

Let all of our voices be heard as we support our friends and colleagues in the Minnesota Orchestra and musicians everywhere!

Thank you,
Bruce Ridge,
Chairman, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM)

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Amanda Palmer, in her blog post today, has reversed her position and is now PAYING all of her participating musicians. Additionally, musicians who have already performed will be paid retroactively. Here’s a small sample of what Ms. Palmer wrote:

“the fact that we all have access to each other and CAN discuss this stuff in realtime is what has MADE my success possible, even if it means i’m tied to the stake every once in a while. i’ll take it.

for better or for worse, this whole kerfuffle has meant i’ve spent the past week thinking hard about this, listening to what everyone was saying and discussing. i hear you. i see your points. me and my band have discussed it at length. and we have decided we should pay all of our guest musicians. we have the power to do it, and we’re going to do it. (in fact, we started doing it three shows ago.)”

Thank you Ms. Palmer!

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PETITION by the American Federation of Musicians

After raising almost $1.2 million for her new album and tour on Kickstarter, Amanda Palmer put out a call for “professional-ish” musicians to volunteer to rehearse and perform in her Grand Theft Orchestra. In return, Palmer says, “We will feed you beer, hug/high-five you up and down, give you merch, and thank you mightily.”

Let’s start with the obvious. Palmer raised $1.2 million in advance for her new album and accompanying tour, yet says that she can’t afford the $35,000 needed to hire musicians. That doesn’t pass the smell test.

With her request for volunteers — three or four saxes and brass and a string quartet that “gets to BE the opening act” — Amanda Palmer has shredded her reputation as a “groundbreaking” indie artist. She’s become just another musician that achieves commercial success and profits off the dreams and aspirations of others.

And besides selling her fellow musicians (and fans) down the river, she has established a dangerous precedent and degraded pay standards for the thousands of working musicians that are hired locally for touring bands.

As AFM President Ray Hair said in a NYTimes article, “If there’s a need for the musician to be on the stage, then there ought to be compensation for it.”

Or as commenter Chris Siebert put it, “Your request for free labor sounds like a promotional gimmick dreamed up by a corporate Republican who has no concept of the history of working people in this country.”

Amanda Palmer: pay ALL the musicians you perform with — and pay them a fair wage. Now.

SIGN PETITION

COMMENT

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from Robert Goodlett, Indianapolis Symphony
September 7, 2012

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Musicians make last ditch effort to save the first two concerts of the season. Symphony Society last week threatened to cancel concerts.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Musicians (ISO musicians) announced today that after a series of negotiations to settle on a new contract, they have proposed a two- month contract extension to keep the music on the stage.
Read On

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By: Kevin Case, Partner, Moen & Case LLP

It is a difficult time for orchestra musicians to be bargaining. Managements throughout the country are seeking major concessions on pay, health care, pensions, and work rules. Sometimes those requests are a legitimate response to real problems; other times, managements are just being opportunistic.

It is not always easy to tell the difference, and circumstances will
vary widely from one orchestra to the next. But musician bargaining committees should always be on the lookout for certain jargon that managements like to use during negotiations. Here are a few statements musicians should never take at face value: Read On

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This coming Monday, August 6, the DMA hosts our first voter registration drive for the November 2012 election. We want every member of the DMA registered to vote!

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Delegates of the Denver Area Labor Federation (DALF) elected Sheila Lieder as their new President on July 16, 2012. Sheila takes over leadership of the 55,000-member AFL-CIO body after John Fleck, who led the group for over 4 years, stepped down to become the Sheet Metal Workers Local 9 Apprenticeship Coordinator. Sheila assumes leadership of the body immediately.

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The Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra Musicians have been in negotiations with the new Management Team for our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which expired October 1, 2010. We have engaged in eleven negotiating sessions to date. We would like to inform the general public about some of the very serious challenges we are facing regarding extreme changes Management, (on behalf of the Board) wants to implement in key provisions of our CBA.

The new Glimmerglass Management presented their opening proposal to the Orchestra’s Union Negotiating Committee (NC) last August 2011. In an unprecedented and shocking move, Article IV.EE.1 was eliminated. This Article designates the number of players in the “permanent/core orchestra”, i.e., the minimum personnel of the Orchestra. (This minimum is still subject to the instrumentations listed in the composers’ original scores for a given Glimmerglass Festival season.) Of additional noteworthy importance, this minimum personnel list comprises our Collective Bargaining Unit.
Read On

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(New York) The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has today affirmed a July 2011 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision finding that the American Federation of Musicians and AFM Local 4 (Cleveland, OH)-parent and local-are joint collective bargaining representatives for the Cleveland Orchestra, and that the Musical Arts Association (MAA), which operates the Cleveland Orchestra violated Federal Labor law by refusing to bargain with the AFM over media issues. The Court rejected MAA’s contention that two or more unions may not serve as joint collective-bargaining representatives for a single unit of employees, stating that those representatives can divide-either expressly or in practice-their bargaining duties in order to accommodate local and national interests.
Read On

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The management of the Louisville Orchestra has announced that they intend to immediately hire a replacement orchestra.

The Louisville Orchestra Musicians Association (LOMA) has established an on-line petition that will allow you to demonstrate your support for the musicians of this great and historic orchestra. It is very important that musicians everywhere sign this petition in a display of solidarity and to demonstrate to the leaders of the city of Louisville that the musicians of the LOMA have your support.

Click Here to sign petition

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Join the DMA between 4/1/12 and 9/30/12 and save the $115 initiation fee!

The Labor Movement:
The folks who brought you the weekend!

DMA’s six-month membership drive recognizes the Labor Movement and its great contribution to our nation and to our representative democracy. The DMA is affiliated with the American Federation of Musicians and the AFL-CIO. There is no better time than NOW – the 2012 election cycle – to become a UNION member. Make your voice heard!

Click on the following links to see a small sample of DMA Member Benefits and AFM Member Benefits

Prospective members are encouraged to attend our March 26 Membership Meeting (see details below).
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March 13, 2012

As president, Barack Obama has placed his faith in America’s working men and women to lead our country to economic recovery and to our full potential as a nation. With our endorsement today, we affirm our faith in him—and pledge to work with him through the election and his second term to restore fairness, security and shared prosperity.

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The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Willaert as AFM Vice President from Canada, effective immediately. Willaert has worked for the AFM for more than 20 years in close collaboration with five different Vice Presidents from Canada, making him a natural choice to assume the post. In his most recent position, Willaert was Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) Executive Director overseeing copyright compliance matters, lobbying efforts, and collective bargaining, and also serving as a liaison with CFM locals and members.

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New website puts working people front and center, creates community space
www.aflcio.org

March 1, 2012 – The AFL-CIO launched its new website today to put the stories of working people front and center and create a community space to share information, take action, and showcase the work of the labor movement. The website is part of a broader effort to highlight the diverse work of the labor movement and use innovative technology to engage people in dynamic ways.

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We need your help NOW! Mile High United Way is no longer going to fund LCA! This is not just a request for donations, this is a plea for life – the life of Labor’s Community Agency!

LCA needs 4,000 plus union brothers and sisters or their friends to sign up for monthly donations or it will be closed down by United Way’s unwillingness to continue using union members’ contributions to fund it. We have 60 days to show our strength and solidarity. If anyone can do this, labor can!

Please click here. It takes less than 5 minutes and costs less than most people spend on coffee each week. Pass the Hat!

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By Pete Vriesenga

The League of American Orchestras (LAO), formerly known as the American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL) has ramped-up their anti-collective bargaining rhetoric lately. LAO’s latest publication: Fearless Journeys: Innovation in Five American Orchestras is yet another in a string of “new model” discussions that champion this message. The book claims to provide “hard evidence” through a small sample study that orchestras can become more “sustainable” by taking risks and modifying their collective bargaining agreements. Of course there is no mention of the established alternative, which is hundreds of amateur orchestras with no collective bargaining agreements that wander aimlessly to the public trough only to pay their administrators.
Read On

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New York City—Saturday, January 7, 2012 – At 9 p.m. on Saturday, January 7th, New York City Opera management rejected the final wage concession offered by Local 802, American Federation of Musicians. The company told the mediators and the unions’ negotiating committees that all employees will be locked out of work on Monday.

A three-week mediation effort conducted by the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service centered on New York City Opera General Manager George Steel’s plan to dismantle the esteemed 68-year-old professional company and replace it with ad-hoc freelance musicians and performers. The proposals made to the unions would eliminate dozens of jobs andreduce the annual compensation of the remaining orchestra and singers from approximately $40,000 per year to $4,000 – cuts totaling 90%. By contrast, Steel’s annual compensation of over $324,000 plus benefits would far outstrip the pay of the entire orchestra.

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After a more than four-year wait, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled in favor of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and affiliated Locals 294 (Lancaster, PA), 72-147 (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX), and 9-535 (Boston, MA) in determining that the musicians of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra are statutory employees, not independent contractors. The two-to-one decision announced December 27, 2011, is a reversal of the regional NLRB’s 2007 ruling to dismiss the orchestra’s union election petition, and clears the way for the orchestra to vote on union representation.

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When the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) discovered that entertainment company Lionsgate had made preparations to go to London to do the score for a uniquely American movie, The Hunger Games, International President Ray Hair contacted Lionsgate music executives and protested. He asked the company to stay in North America and do the score with AFM musicians, under a Union agreement like those the company has with the actors, writers, directors and stage crew. When the production heads refused to budge, Hair pushed back, taking Lionsgate to task in a video clip released today.

Click Here to see what Ray Hair has to say about Lionsgate and The Hunger Games.

If you stand with us, Click Here to sign our petition. asking Lionsgate to record “The Hunger Games” film scores in the United States with all the fair wages, benefits and protections that an AFM agreement affords.

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As we all know, the musicians of the Louisville Orchestra have been engaged in a lengthy negotiation with their management. They have repeatedly been threatened by their board with being replaced by other musicians. And now, after a final ultimatum, the Louisville Orchestra, Inc. has begun recruiting replacement musicians.
Read On

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The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) and the major recording companies struck a new three-year labor deal just before midnight on October 27, 2011. The new agreement, which becomes effective upon ratification, calls for scale wage increases across the board, as well as other economic improvements, in contrast to the current climate of deep concessionary bargaining in many industries.
Read On

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In moves that have led to confusion and the resignation of at least one board member, the Louisville Orchestra Inc.’s attorney has prohibited communication between the orchestra’s musicians, and its board members, administrators and board leadership. After a series of weekend communications between the board’s president and the musicians’ negotiation team seemed close to forming a deal to settle the institution’s continuing contract difficulties, the orchestra’s board members were told Monday that the musicians refused the contract proposal and that the institution will attempt to assemble an orchestra with pick-up musicians.

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Now more than ever we come together at a moment that calls for the collective wisdom of those of you in this room, and now more than ever the world is aching to hear a positive message and a positive vision for the future that musicians can articulate uniquely. But also, now more than ever, we arrive at a time when there are many reasons to feel anger, and many obstacles to surmount.

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The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has placed the Louisville Orchestra on its “Unfair List,” following the orchestra’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy without a collective bargaining agreement. At an August 15 court hearing, Judge David Stosberg approved the orchestra’s reorganization plan, effectively bringing it out of bankruptcy. The AFM had opposed the plan, citing the fact that it is not viable without employed musicians.

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Lone Tree’s Pay-to-Play Orchestra in Concert, Saturday, July 23
By Pete Vriesenga

Public funding for symphony orchestras has become more and more scarce, which comes as no surprise. According to the American Symphony Orchestra League, public funding for symphony orchestras as a national average is now just 4%.

Incredibly, the Lone Tree Symphony, a pay-to-play orchestra, shattered this depressing statistic. LTSO’s 2009 reports show that approximately 80% of the orchestra’s $57,900 budget come from government sources. Much of this money became available to the LTSO after the November 2004 election when Lone Tree residents voted to participate in the SCFD Taxing District.
Read On

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(New York, NY) A three-judge panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has affirmed that the Musical Arts Association (MAA), which runs The Cleveland Orchestra, violated federal labor law by refusing to bargain with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) regarding terms and conditions of employment related to electronic media productions. The NLRB rejected MAA’s argument that it had complied with the law by making media proposals to AFM Local 4 (the Federation’s affiliated local in Cleveland). The NLRB affirmed Administrative Law Judge Eric M. Fine’s earlier finding that having signed media agreements with the Federation for many years, MAA was not free to shift media negotiations to a local basis.

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The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jay Blumenthal as director of Symphonic Services and as the Federation’s Assistant Treasurer.

“Jay’s outstanding relationship-building abilities have produced unparalleled excellence in the symphonic employment sector,” says AFM President Ray Hair. “He is well known for promoting open, honest discussion on difficult issues, in difficult times, in a manner that encourages respect and problem-solving.”

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This year I attended the 73rd Western Conference of Locals in Vancouver BC along with our delegate Don Prorak. With 38 delegates representing 34 locals, new AFM President Ray Hair addressed the conference in his usual dynamic style. President Hair reported on settlements with the Recording Musicians Association and Disney productions. He went on to discuss the situation with the Detroit Symphony. A couple observations by President Hair stuck with me:

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By Pete Vriesenga

I have been calling attention to SCFD’s bad policy for 15 years, all the while explaining why their indiscriminate annual distribution of $40 million is doing more harm than good. For the most part this has been a futile effort because we are now facing a culture shift in our community that, driven by ignorance, deliberate intent or both, is systematically killing jobs by converting our remaining professional music economy into publicly-funded volunteerism.

How do we wake our “leaders” to the simple fact that these precious tax dollars must work in harmony with our industry and to ensure that taxpayers finally get what they bargained for? Pointed, healthy discussion going forward is our best hope, provided we can find someone willing to represent the alternate point of view. Robin McNeil has now stepped into this role, at least for the moment. McNeil is a former Executive Director of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and now maintains his OpusColorado arts blog.

My recent commentary Please attend SCFD’s public meeting on March 24, 2011 caught McNeil’s attention. On March 26, McNeil posted his commentary to mine which he titled Bullying the SCFD. McNeil tosses out weak and unfounded assertions that, at the very least, require my counter back to him. But despite repeated attempts to post my response to his blog, McNeil has deliberately silenced me … for now.

Click here to read my rebuttal that McNeil and OpusColorado never published.

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By Pete Vriesenga

I posted an announcement and commentary on March 22nd entitled: Please attend SCFD’s public meeting on March 24, 2011. My hope was to let our community of professional musicians know that our industry is again in jeopardy because of irresponsible decisions of the SCFD board and administrators. Thankfully, many members responded and filled all remaining chairs in the meeting room. Most were members of the Colorado Chamber Orchestra (CCO).

At stake was the fact that SCFD rejected CCO’s application to apply for funding in the upcoming grant cycle. Among reasons given were that CCO often performs in churches and has played benefit concerts (one for the homeless in Denver and another for AIDS infants in Africa). God forbid if CCO carried through with such good deeds in its past, and what a sad testament of just how silly SCFD policy [or lack thereof] has become. Read On

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Today is Equal Pay Day—the day that symbolizes how far into each year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. Working women in the United States are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. The pay gap is even larger for women of color, with black women earning about 70 cents, and Latinas about 60 cents, of every dollar paid to all men. Read On

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Labor protests in Wisconsin and across the Midwest have shown once again that public protest is often our only tool to reverse bad policy & legislation. There’s no shortage of bad policy that is dragging our local industry down and the worst offender continues to be the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). As in Wisconsin, we have no option but to stand up collectively to SCFD’s anti-labor practices or suffer the consequences as work opportunities continue to erode. The occasion for our show of solidarity will be a public SCFD meeting on Thursday, March 24 at 1:00 PM. We need as many DMA members to show as we can possibly turn out.
Read On

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Labor unions, progressive organizations, community leaders and higher education students will join together Monday, April 4th in several Colorado cities at rallies, marches, teach-ins and walk-outs to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to demand political and economic justice for all people.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., where he was standing with sanitation workers demanding their dream of a better life. Today, the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a middle-class life are under attack as never before.

People across America-black, white, Latino and Asian American-are electrified by that same dream and are standing up for the right to join together for our common dreams. A series of labor events in Denver will culminate in a Candlelight Vigil at the Denver City Park from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the City Park, Bandshell Facility East 17th Ave and Steele St.

Featuring: AFM 760’s Mario Solis-Marich, Nita Gonzales, Alan Gilbert, Andrea Merida, Henry Roman, Jeff Englehart, and many more
Download flyer for more information

Please join us for Music, Faith, and Solidarity with Colorado Working Families. The featured house band for this historic event will be DMA’s own Jerry Barnett and Moments Notice. We will staged at the Bandshell located on the East side of Ferril Lake. For more information call the Colorado AFL-CIO at 303-433-2100.

11:30 AM – March Begins
SEIU Justice for Janitors March
17th & California

12:30 PM – Teach-In
Auraria Campus
Lawrence St. Mall (in front of the Plaza Building)

5:30 PM – We Are One!
Rally & Candle Light Vigil, City Park Band Shell

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Following action taken last weekend to suspend the remainder of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) season, DSO management has announced that it plans to create a new orchestra in Detroit. Current DSO members would be eligible to play in the new orchestra only if they were to accept unilateral terms, which are now harsher than those outlined in the proposed contract that was overwhelmingly rejected by musicians last week. DSO management’s commitment to staff the new orchestra with professional musicians rings hollow, given that nearly all professional orchestral musicians stand in solidarity as members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). The new orchestra would therefore have to be made up largely of amateur musicians.

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After another round of unproductive talks between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) musicians and management, and the DSO’s cancellation of this weekend’s concerts, it is clear that the orchestra’s struggle is far from over. The DSO Board of Directors agreed to postpone the decision to cancel the remainder of the season and meet again next week. As the strike enters its 18th week, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) continues to firmly support the members of the orchestra, and encourages all music lovers to do the same.

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December 19, 2010

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

This past week has brought hope and frustration as the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra seek to end an 11-week-old strike. Many people beyond the DSO are greatly concerned about the impact of the strike on the cultural and economic life of Detroit and Michigan. A group of business, political and community leaders calling themselves the Citizens Committee came together in October, and met several times with both musician and management representatives. They urged the two sides to resume bargaining, and indeed two sessions were held in November. Unfortunately, no progress was made, because management refused to significantly improve its financial offer or even to scale back its demands for other drastic concessions.
Read On

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By Pete Vriesenga

Two months ago I wrote a commentary about the Niwot Timberline Symphony’s recent name change to the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. The question at the time was why? Why would a community orchestra, with no financial or competitive worries, deliberately confuse name branding with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra? The answer boils down to shameless commerce as negotiated in the BSO’s rental agreement with First Presbyterian Church in Boulder. Renting out the sanctuary for rehearsals and concerts wasn’t quite good enough. BSO musicians must also perform for The Glory of Christmas, which was the bread and butter of professional musicians for two decades. BSO musicians will now do it for free.

My recent email exchange with BSO Board President Emily Schmidt confirmed the missing pieces as described above. There should be no need for any DMA members to question that they must break ties with the BSO immediately, but I’ll follow up with each to be sure.
Comments

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The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) will begin a leafleting campaign against NETworks Presentations, LLC’s production of the musical Beauty and the Beast in San Antonio, Texas. Tour producer NETworks Presentations has chosen not to contract touring musicians at rates of pay and with benefits that are acceptable to professional musicians. Instead, NETworks has engaged non-AFM musicians at substandard rates of pay and under substandard working conditions. In addition, the Disney musical will be presented using a pit orchestra of only 11 musicians, despite the fact that 26 are called for in the original, award-winning Broadway score.

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Approximately 30 community orchestras are now established in metro Denver, which is an extraordinary number. Some are invaluable community partners, but others have no understanding of purpose, nor do they show regard for our industry. The responsibility to identify and support only those organizations that prove to be genuine community partners therefore rests entirely on each and every one of us. DMA standards and subsequent member obligations are now clearly delineated in the DMA Policy on Community Orchestras & Bands. This policy mirrors the established Music Code of Ethics, which is an AFM/MENC agreement dating back to 1947 that defines the jurisdictions of professional musicians and school musicians.
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Particularly in small towns, there is often a conflict between amateur musicians and ensembles, like high school music programs and professional musicians. An individual might hire a local high school ensemble for much less than a professional musician. Because of the potential conflict between professional and amateur musicians that might diminish the number of paying gigs, music educators and professional musicians have collaborated to define the circumstances under which it is ethical for amateur musicians to accept private or public paid performances.
Read On

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This past July, the board president of the Timberline Symphony Orchestra registered a new trade name “Boulder Symphony Orchestra” with the Colorado Secretary of State, accompanied by the requisite $20 filing fee. Many in the community are asking why this volunteer community orchestra is deliberately confusing name branding with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra?
Read On

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By Leo W. Gerard, International President, USW

On this holiday, we can rant with Glenn Beck, kick the dog and hate the neighbor lucky enough to retain his job. Or we can do something different. We can join with our neighbors, employed and unemployed, our foreclosed-on children, our elderly parents fearing cuts in their Social Security lifeline and our fellow workers worrying that the furlough ax will strike them next. Together we can organize and mobilize and create a grassroots groundswell that gives government no choice but to respond to our needs, the needs of working people.

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New York, NY – The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kenneth Shirk of Local 99 (Portland, OR) to serve as Assistant to the President for the Western United States.

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“We’re asking the public to help save this orchestra every one of us loves — an orchestra that enriches our lives and makes us proud, an orchestra that brings us recognition worldwide. We want the people to continue hearing great symphonic music at the level of quality they are used to and deserve,” Thompkins said.

“We want them to know that management refuses to negotiate. Not budging from its demands but merely repackaging them is not negotiating. The musicians look forward to honest negotiations — not charades from management — to arrive at a contract that guarantees the eventual restoration of our status as one of America’s top ten symphonic orchestras.

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Gulf Coast RecOILs from Bad Pollution
by Ken Davies

It wasn’t that long ago (2005) when hurricane Katrina washed an average of six blocks of buildings off the entire 80 mile coast of Mississippi. We’ll still be rebuilding for another ten years while also recovering from insurance extortion, Wall Street bailouts and its effects on home values, and now recOILing from the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Thanks to BP, our “Redneck Riviera” is moving toward becoming a “Wretched Riviera.”

It has all been like a horror movie unfolding ever so slowly. Anxiety and despair mount daily as one awaits each next troubling physical, chemical, economic, social or political creature to emerge from this lagoon. You can follow local Mississippi news headlines at http://www.sunherald.com/oilspill/. Disturbing are the pictures of shores and marshes soaked with oil. These will take generations to recover just like the Alaskan shores, which have still not recovered from Exxon Valdez. There are confirmed reports of BP, sometimes with official assistance, preventing journalists and photographers from gaining access to the areas. But they got there anyway. Heart breaking are the photos and videos of oil covered wildlife struggling to escape the slimy muck. Over 350 pictures of Gulf oil devastation and its effects can be seen at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/louisiana-oil-spill-2010_n_558287.html. There has also been such an abundance of political finger pointing and side-taking across the media that folks outside this area are starting to forget that not only hundreds of thousands of residents are being adversely affected, but also 11 oil rig workers were killed out there because BP took shortcuts on safety.

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By BOB HERBERT
NY Times
Published: July 9, 2010

Bob Herbert Bob Herbert
In April 1968, the same month that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, where he had gone to support striking sanitation workers, the president of the powerful auto workers’ union, Walter Reuther, traveled to Memphis to give the strikers critically needed financial support.

The sanitation workers were black. In his biography of Reuther, Nelson Lichtenstein noted that the check he handed over to the strikers was the largest outside contribution that they would receive. Some officials at the United Automobile Workers headquarters in Detroit were taken aback. “But Reuther forged ahead,” Lichtenstein wrote, “offering an impassioned defense of interracial solidarity.”
Complete Story

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The Richardson Symphony, Inc. has been placed on the International Unfair List of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. Read On

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Many of you may be aware of the recent unfortunate events at the Richardson Symphony. After repeatedly waiting weeks and even months to be paid for concerts, the musicians decided to publicize management’s failure to pay them under the contract. They issued a press release and notified the public that they would engage in informational picketing at their May 8 concert. Orchestra committee chairman and Principal Trumpet, Bert Truax, was quoted in the press release – a suitable action for a union leader in the orchestra. The musicians’ attempt to deal with their workplace problem was protected union activity, and hardly surprising. But what happened next was shocking, indeed.

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CHARLESTON, SC – The 34 musicians of the Charleston Symphony have overwhelmingly rejected the terms of an Interim Operating Agreement (“IOA”) that would have slashed salaries by 84% for the majority of musicians and substantially reduced the Symphony’s performances for the 2010-2011 season.

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Over the past three weeks I surveyed candidates for current Colorado US Senator Michael Bennet’s seat regarding their position on the Employee Free Choice Act. I contacted each candidate twice except for Andrew Romanoff, whose campaign staff responded immediately. Here are the results:

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What: Rally to bring Main Street to Wall Street
When: Thursday April 29, 2010 at 1 pm
Where: Wells Fargo Bank (17th & Lincoln) Denver
Join us and show your support for financial regulation!

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Last week, 29 coal miners died after a methane explosion in West Virginia. The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster highlights why standing up for workers is so important. When workers are prevented from joining a union and standing up for their rights, companies can get away with ignoring their safety and well being.
Send a note of support to families of the miners

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Susan K. Shepherd has received the endorsement of the Denver Area Labor Federation. Ballots must be received by May 4, 2010. If you’re a resident of District 1, please get out and vote!

“I am proud to stand up for ALL working families in Denver City Council District 1. I am pleased to be endorsed by the Denver Area Labor Federation and the Teamsters Local 17.”
Susan K. Shepherd
Candidate for Denver City Council District 1

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On behalf of the membership of American Federation of Musicians Local 1000, I want to extend our condolences to the families of the miners lost in the disaster at the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) in Montcoal, West Virginia. The twenty-five miners who lost their lives, the four still missing, their families, and their entire community are in our prayers and in our thoughts.

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3/37/2010

President Barack Obama today announced the recess appointments of attorneys Craig Becker and Mark Gaston Pearce to fill two vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board.

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Community orchestras are flourishing in metro Denver, and largely because of easy access to public funds through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District. These thirty-plus organizations provide a welcome performance outlet for many musicians, but offer few job opportunities for professionals who are struggling more than ever to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. How do we at least ensure that community ensembles work collaboratively and in harmony with professional ensembles?

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The 72nd AFM Western Conference of Locals held in Dallas, TX February 26-28 was a fun, informative, and action packed 3 days. This was the first time I have ever attended a Western Conference, or any conference of the AFM, and what a wonderful way to meet a lot of our colleagues from across the western USA and Canada.

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On behalf of all the Honolulu Symphony Musicians, we would like to express our gratitude to all the ICSOM and ROPA orchestras, locals, and individual musicians who have stepped forward with donations and good wishes for us. The overwhelming response to the Call for Action has been breathtaking and deeply meaningful: as of February 25, 2010, we have received a total of $104,977 from 39 ICSOM orchestras, plus donations from a ROPA orchestra and various locals.

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Every summer, residents of Lone Tree, CO and neighboring communities enjoy a free concert by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. These concerts are presented in Sweetwater Park by the City of Lone Tree, but this coming summer the Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra (a volunteer community orchestra) will replace the CSO. A CSO file photo still adorns the Lone Tree Summer Concerts website, but now accompanies a July 24 listing for the LTSO.

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As many of you know through media reports, Governor Ritter announced this morning that he will not stand for re-election in 2010. I attended the press conference at the State Capitol this morning and heard the announcement first hand. I have attached his statement so you can read it for yourselves.

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AT&T Winspear’s rave acoustics host ballet with empty orchestra pit. Ballet silenced live music after two board representatives collected $700k.
Read More

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ELKHART, Ind. (AP) – By 10:30 a.m., the lot at Disabled American Veterans Post 19 is nearly full, and a table spread with potato salad and Port-a-Pit chicken beckons. The only thing missing is a banner, mutters one of the workers inside the rental hall to another: “Welcome to Our Last Supper.” This is a gathering to mark the end of a 40-month fight over who owns the craftsmanship that gives life to a factory floor. These men and women logged decades pressing, soldering and buffing – making trombones and trumpets of such sinuous precision they are called the Stradivarius of brass. In the end, though, there is no music. Complete Story

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The NMSO management has resorted to unfair negotiations tactics. The NMSO management has canceled our work and we have been without a paycheck for six weeks. On September 10th, the NMSO musicians received notification their health insurance had been canceled, although their coverage would be extended through October. Last week musicians had to demand that management reverse their health insurance status to active after musicians were denied health care. That very weekend, the NMSO management presented a concert which replaced the orchestra with a 7 piece traveling group.more

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The American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) today announced a new online service for its participants. Participants who have registered on the AFM-EP’s website at www.afm-epf.org are now able to view and download their Interim Covered Earnings Reports. These reports provide participants with the ability to access details of their work history for the current year.

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Speaking before a cheering crowd, President Obama told AFL-CIO
delegates that he shares the union movement’s goals for quality
health care, freedom to form unions and a strong economy—and
together we’ll achieve them. Live Coverage

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Orchestras Dumped after two Ballet Board Members got  $700K
Ballet is cheating patrons out of legit show, Kills musicians’ jobs to cover losses: Read More

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New York, NY – The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) has endorsed Richard Trumka for President of the AFL-CIO. At its meeting on July 23, the AFM International Executive Board also endorsed incumbent Arlene Holt Baker for Executive Vice President and Liz Shuler for Secretary-Treasurer for the AFL-CIO election this September. The election will be held as current President John Sweeney prepares to retire at the end of this term.

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Amy Brenneman and Esai Morales are among 47 popular performing artists speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act in a dynamic new video. Please take a moment to state your support on behalf of your business, band or ensemble by filling out a declaration form and returning a copy to the Denver Musicians Association.

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The Employee Free Choice Act Will:
Restore workers’ freedom to make their own decision about how to join together to bargain for better benefi ts and fair wages.

Create real penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights.

Provide mediation and arbitration to help workers and employers come to agreement on a first contract.

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Dear Senator Bennet,

I strongly encourage you to immediately endorse the Employee Free Choice Act. Yesterday I attended the town hall meeting held at the IBEW Local 68 offices.

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The Denver Musicians Association has endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, as evidenced by a unanimous vote of support at our March 30 membership meeting. Now, Senators have a simple choice to make about the Employee Free Choice Act. Will they side with your and all America’s workers, or will they side with Big Business?

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Hundreds of musicians and their union brothers and sisters formed picket lines and distributed leaflets in front of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, in protest of Texas Ballet Theater’s canned music policy. Demonstrators inflated a giant rat balloon to draw attention to musicians’ concerns. Demonstrations were held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 27, 28 and 29, 2009 prior to the start of the company’s Cleopatra performances.

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Corporate leaders are making a lot of unfounded claims that the Employee Free Choice Act would be bad for small businesses. But when you ask many small business owners and entrepreneurs across the country, you’ll hear a different story. They understand the Employee Free Choice Act will help create a stronger economy, with a better-trained workforce and a more economically stable customer base. Click here for Q&A sheet on the Employee Free Choice Act

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In June, 2008, the artistic staff of a Fort Worth ballet company traveled to Shanghai, paid $30,000.00 to the government of China and killed the jobs of our members. Join with us March 27, 28 and 29 as we converge on Bass Hall in Downtown Fort Worth to protest one of the most deplorable acts ever staged in the history of classical ballet theater. Download Flyer

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“The overwhelming majority of performers are not rich, but hardworking men and women trying to make a living,” said AFM President Tom Lee. “A source of income is being denied to these men and women by over-the-air AM/FM radio, which gets its advertising revenue and listeners from the popularity of their recorded music. The Performance Rights Act would give performers a fair recognition of the value their work brings to radio.

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by James Parks, Dec 18, 2008
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney today praised President-elect Obama’s reported plan to appoint Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) as secretary of labor. In a statement, Sweeney says: We’re confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions—to defend workers’ basic rights in our nation’s workplaces.

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Myth No. 1: Nobody buys the vehicles of the Big 3
Reality: GM, Ford and Chrysler sold 8.5 million vehicles in the United States last year. GM outsold Toyota by about 1.2 million vehicles in the United States last year and holds a lead over Toyota of nearly 700,000 so far this year.
Myth No. 2: Their cars are built poorly:
Reality: The creaky, leaky vehicles of the 1980s and ’90s are long gone. Consumer Reports recently found that “Ford’s reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers.”
Myth No. 3: They build gas-guzzlers:
Reality: All of the Detroit Three build midsize sedans that the Environmental Protection Agency rates at 29-33 miles per gallon on the highway.

Click subject heading above to keep reading

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Former “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard stars in “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” one of the shows listed on Equity’s union show list.

If you’re looking to check out a play or musical during the holidays, the Actors’ Equity website lists Broadway touring shows nationwide that employ union actors and those that do not.

Click here for the Equity tour list.

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From the blog: The Working Musician
By David J. Hahn
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that a lot of you reading this are musicians much like me – you grew up somewhere in the 80s or 90s, you were introduced to music at school or church, you had a few private teachers, you studied a little or a lot of music at college and now you’re out in the world as a professional musician – making recordings to sell online, playing gigs, teaching lessons and – clearly – reading blogs.

Why should somebody like us join the musicians’ union? Or more to the point – why do we bother to have a musicians’ union at all?

Continue Reading

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Last night, the Senate failed to cut off debate and vote on the House-passed $14 billion emergency bridge loan to the nation’s automakers. After the vote, the UAW made it clear it is still willing to go the extra mile to rescue the nations’ auto industry.

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It’s Time to Restore Workers’ Freedom to Form Unions. The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S. 1041), supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, would level the playing field for workers and employers and help rebuild America’s middle class.

If you like to learn more about the Act, please follow this
Link to the AFL-CIO’s information center.

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“The business community has joined with labor to oppose three proposals targeting unions: Right to Work (Amendment 47), Paycheck Protection (Amendment 49) and Sole Sourcing (Amendment 54). They have pledged to raise $3 million for the campaigns against those measures. That funding will be collected by a pro-business issues committee, which will approve the way it is spent.”

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Right-to-Work states have higher populations (21% more) who live day to day without health coverage, as compared to free bargaining states. Poverty rates are 12.5% higher in right-to-work states and infant mortality rates are 16% higher. Maximum weekly worker compensation benefits are $30 higher in free bargaining states ($609 versus $579 in right-to-work states). Additionally, workplace deaths are 51% higher in right-to-work states because its very difficult to find anyone with the courage to SPEAK UP when Unions have long gone by the wayside.

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A perspective that all Citizens should be able to understand is the thought that the street in front of our homes should be paid for by everyone who lives on that street. The maintenance for that street should be paid for by everyone who lives on that street. Each and every Citizen who lives on that street enjoys the benefits of that street. Now, your neighbor stops paying ‘fair share taxes,’ leaving you and other neighbors to pick up the slack and pay more in order to enjoy the benefits of that street.

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Outside interests who have absolutely nothing to lose, want to change the laws of Colorado so that Workers will lose everything. It is important to realize that those who would destroy Unions in America will not rest. They will continue their vicious attacks on the rights of American Workers. They have brought their vile poison to Colorado. It is now crunch time, and we need you to not only realize the gravity of the situation, but to verbalize it to your fellow Workers.

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PRESIDENT
President- Barack Obama

UNITED STATES SENATE
Senator- Mark Udall (D)

CONGRESSIONAL RACES
CD 1- Diana DeGette (D)
CD 2- Jared Polis (D)
CD 3- John Salazar (D)
CD 4- Betsy Markey (D)
CD 5- Hal Bidlack (D)
CD 6- Hank Eng (D)
CD 7- Ed Perlmutter (D)

Click on the link above for the complete list of endorsements

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Our association has done a good job over the years to raise our scales to a respectful level that is on parity with comparable cities and markets. This is a benefit for all of us, but only if the membership recognizes the hard work and determination that got us to this point. Now that we have achieved these scales, our membership is expected to value and respect them.

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Amendment 47 is being characterized by supporters as a law which would prohibit workers from being “forced” to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment. The media, too, has latched on to this inaccurate definition and the result is that there has been no clear explanation of the difference between Amendment 47 and current law.

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Denver Post: With bachelor and master of music performance degrees under her belt, Tamara Meredith envisioned a life as a college professor, focusing on her specialization in early music.

But things didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, she is the full-time director of the Eaton Public Library, and the flutist and violist performs on the side with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado and the Dallas Bach Society, and substitutes as needed in a few area modern orchestras.

… Such patchwork lives are common in the classical world. While a handful of the field’s star soloists can command as much as $100,000 for an appearance, thousands of other musicians must scramble to make ends meet.

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Big Summer Weekend Petition Drive: – Saturday July 12th and Sunday July 13th. – 9am to 1pm both days. – If you can help please contact Statewide Field Director, Mindie Reule at 303-477-2037.

Weekend Meet-Up Locations:
Denver: 140 Sheridan Blvd.
Colorado Springs: 3737 Palmer Park Blvd.
Boulder: 1823 Folsom St, Ste 201
Grand Junction: 123 North 7th, Suite 110
Fort Collins: Fort Collins City Park (413 S. Bryan St)
Pueblo: IUOE Local 9, 706 Elmhurst Place

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“The time has come to insist on an obvious but overlooked fact—artists are workers. They make things and perform services, just like other workers, and these goods and services have value—not merely in lofty spiritual terms but also in dollars and cents. Without denying the higher purposes of the artistic vocation, this report shows.”

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You don’t need anyone to tell you that your paycheck is devalued, that working families are suffering from foreclosure, skyrocketing health costs, gas prices, etc,… Bad policy, including deliberate efforts to weaken organized labor, is largely to blame. It’s about time WE start doing something about it.

Please read on for more information and to download issue posters.

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A “Right-to-Work” for less initiative (Amendment 47) slated for the November Ballot is as deceptive in name as its proponents: “A Better Colorado.” They claim that “Amendment 47 will strengthen Colorado’s economy, create jobs and make our state more competitive,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Average annual earnings for workers in right-to-work states are $5,333 less than their counterparts in free-bargaining states.
Continue reading to access Survey.

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Last night, the members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra unanimously voted by secret ballot to reject the CSO Board’s “final offer” for a new contract which would take effect next season. The offer called for a 40% annual salary cut from all 53 Full-Time Musicians with no restoration in additional years.

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For the past several years, flight attendants, pilots and other airline workers have sacrificed pay, benefits and working conditions through a long series of bankruptcies, restructurings, mergers, layoffs and threatened liquidations. And on Thursday, airline unions told Congress workers must have a voice at the table when the biggest merger in the industry is being discussed.

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The keynote address came from US Senator Daniel Inouye, who spoke mainly about the inadequate services that our returning military personnel are receiving. Senator Inouye’s heroic actions in World War II resulted in serious injury, including the loss of his right arm, for which he received 22 months of intensive rehabilitation. Learning to play the piano with his remaining hand was one of the greatest factors in rebuilding his confidence and determination.

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The Columbus and Shreveport Symphony Orchestras need your help, and at times like this, a letter to the editor, board members, or even to orchestra members can be priceless.

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The Denver Musicians Association is now looking for individuals (YOU?) who are willing to lead a legislative effort to shift state law to the “Just Cause” standard, which is clearly the professional and respectful manner of doing business. We need your personal stories and determined effort to help us make this legislative change.

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Visionary and Trade Unionist

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Although a 15 hour negotiating session on December 14, 2007 yielded $1.25 million in concessions from musicians, the Jacksonville Symphony Association (JSA) and the Jacksonville Symphony Players’ Association (JSPA) were unable to craft a final agreement.

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American Federation of Musicians President Tom Lee and Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg make it clear that these two entertainment unions are backing the Writers Guild for as long as it takes to win a fair contract.

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Nominees were excited Thursday by the recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. but vexed by the possibility of pickets at the Golden Globes.

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The Local One Negotiating Committee has successfully completed the contract negotiation with the League of American Theatres and Producers.

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The stagehands on Broadway need and deserve our solidarity and support.
Their fight is our fight for job security and safe working conditions – two areas
that should be a given…and not a giveback.

What can YOU do to show your support?

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Metro-Denver’s Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) facilitates distribution of the voter-approved retail sales and usage tax funds to organizations that provide for the enlightenment and entertainment of the public through the production, exhibition, advancement or preservation of art, music, theater, dance, zoology, botany, natural history or cultural history. Appropriately, SCFD policy requires that recipients of these public grants must adhere to provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Federal Minimum Wage requirements.

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