DSO Picket Tonight (Feb 22, 6pm)

http://www.detroitsymphonymusicians.org

i go see them perform whenever i can, usually 3x / year, and i am old enough to remember the last time Orchestra Hall was abandoned.

i've read more into this whole issue and it seems more and more like yet another insidious management attempt at knocking labor down a few pegs...with the result being the eradication of the 100yr-old, world-class DSO.

Do DSO players need to make some concessions? they could probably afford to make a few. but thats not all that's going on here. as both a musician and someone who just lost his job at AT&T to a BS 2-tiered system of labor, i am going to go down there and show my support.

http://www.detroitsymphonymusicians....ry21,2011.html

i knew something fishy was up from the moment i got that email from the DSO which is usually used only to inform members of upcoming concerts & promos, only to find a scathing, slanted political message from DSO management about the supposed "greed" of the players who had just gone on strike.

just because the DSO players dont assemble cars in a factory or work up on telephone poles like the "stereotypical" Detroiter doesnt mean that they are "greedy" for having a labor union.

I don't get the union's demand that Mayor Bing not hold his State of the City address at Orchestra Hall. That doesn't show support for either side. In fact, whatever the city is paying to the DSO to use the hall is money the DSO wouldn't otherwise have. I'd think the musicians would want the DSO to have more money, after all, a lack of money is the biggest problem facing both sides. What's the point in trying to lessen the amount of money the DSO has?

Sounds like this strike has turned into an emotional pissing contest. Symphony, no symphony, at this point I can't really be bothered to care much. Life goes on.

ll be there is support of the musicians union.

geniuses, what a great way to get the message out.
piss off city leadership by picketing outside the annual address.
maybe they could get 1st chair high school or college students to play for free as a springboard for them, that would save a lot of money and look good on the kiddies resumes.
Most people don't look at it as a greed / class issue.
Simple economics and supply and demand. People can sit in front of their 56" hdtv with surround sound in their pajamas and watch anything anytime and making sure junior isn't getting into the liquor.

Discuss Detroit posters, say hello to gdogslim, our resident reactionary over in the Non-Detroit board. :)

See you there. I'll be the very cold looking woman ;)

Gov. Snyder heard about the picket line and said hey...don't leave me out...

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110...speech-tonight

Very very cold. Sorry to see Steve Conn but the young people he brought to the picket brought light and warmth with them. Police assholes, as they always are when public protest rears it's head.

I love the DSO and I am sympathetic to the musicians, but that being said, both sides need to get their heads out of their asses. With the state of Michigan looking cut funding for the budget any place they can, now is not the time to bitch about salaries and raises.

The musicians also need to realize that about 65% of the funds subsudizing them are from outside contributions [[not revenues generated by concerts) and that the current rumblings are going to turn off those contributing to the DSO.

I know that when the hard times came and money became tighter I looked at ways to cut back on my spending. The average Joe Citizen is not going to look at the situation with a sympathetic leaning, but more towards how can I move that money I was going to spend on concert tickets into another area of their lifestyle. Much like the strikes and work stoppages in baseball and hockey, it'll take a while for the DSO and musicians to win back that fan base that are disenchanted by what is going on.

I have a hard time feeling sympathetic to the musicians considering the money they do make. The health costs do seem a bit excessive though. We've all had increasing health care costs, but mine hasn't gone to that high of a level yet thankfully.

Maybe it's my way of thinking but this country is falling fast enough to start concentrating on necessities. To me DSO is not one of them. It's a luxury. I cannot understand why with so many people out of work, strikers will risk being in that group rather than make concessions. There is only so much money to go around right now and it's not being shared very well. Now I'll go back to trying to figure how to keep a roof over my head as my wife was informed this week her company is going out of business next month.

I thought they all quit? Or maybe they all got fired.

Either way, they're out of a job, so bugger off. No need to make spectacles of themselves.

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Originally Posted by gencinjay

I have a hard time feeling sympathetic to the musicians considering the money they do make. The health costs do seem a bit excessive though. We've all had increasing health care costs, but mine hasn't gone to that high of a level yet thankfully.

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I wonder if you're feeling any sympathy to the Wall Street barons who made billions off of our backs? They' have us right where they want us - quarreling over working class people, make no mistake about it, the DSO Musicians are working class people - so we refuse to see the real problems in our society, the billionaires and politicians in their pockets.

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the DSO Musicians are working class people

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Maybe they used to be. Now they're walking class.

Do we have to go over and over the facts every day? The musicians made concessions. The management turned them down. Hence the strike, hence the picket. Maybe you want to give up your rights without a fight, but these musicians are tougher than you. Seems un-American to just bend over and obey.

I'd have more sympathy if they were performing a essential service such as police, fire, ems or teaching. Performing in a symphony is not an essential service!

If we pared life down to what was essential, we might possibly destroy everything of beauty, decency and wisdom in life. What a world: Wars are essential, symphonies are not.

Wilfrid, when some corporate prick decides your profession isn't essential, whatcha gonna do?

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Originally Posted by oldredfordette

Do we have to go over and over the facts every day? The musicians made concessions. The management turned them down. Hence the strike, hence the picket. Maybe you want to give up your rights without a fight, but these musicians are tougher than you. Seems un-American to just bend over and obey.

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Originally Posted by oldredfordette

Wilfrid, when some corporate prick decides your profession isn't essential, whatcha gonna do?

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THANK YOU.

its easy to bash them because theyre striking. but if you read into this deeper you will see there was a lot more at stake here besides simple pay cuts and junk like that. they are fighting what is intended [[by corporate greed) to be an insidious change in the way orchestras are run, and may have even been the first orchestra confronted with this BS...they were looking at not only pay cuts, but a massive change in their job description. not to mention that under the contract that was offered, management would be taking a MUCH SMALLER pay cut than the players, lol...big surprise. look at the specifics of the contract they were offered before being so quick to pounce on them.

was it the best idea to picket the State of the City Address? maybe not. you can say they are not an essential service like police/fire. but you know what, tourists from other towns do not come here to watch our policemen perform Beethoven. if Detroit is going to remake itself, culture is and always has been the ESSENTIAL piece of that puzzle. just like the Belle Isle Aquarium, we have just lost one of the things that Detroit alone held above other cities--a world class orchestra that made even Europeans jealous.

unfortunately, as my friend told me the other night, orchestras do not make good martyrs.

it has even been said that management purposely wrote a contract offer that was so repugnant that they knew the players would reject it, and that the intent all along was to replace them with much cheaper musicians off the street.

WELCOME TO THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF TWO-TIERED LABOR, FOLKS. we're rewinding American labor history 100 yrs to the dark ages of sweatshops and coal mines. it's as if everything Detroit and our grandparents stood for and wrought for us is being erased.

The city could have moved the State of the City address to a place that really demonstrates the state of the city: The Ford Auditorium. Surely more than a few light bulbs are still working in that place. The heat may not work, but people could keep their coats on. It truly reflects the state of the city today: great promise, little action.

I have heard that the city has a hard time providing basic city services. IMO, the DSO is nice but a luxury and people [[voters/residents) should lobby for these essential services to improve rather than fight for a high class band in their city.

For those of you who support them, are you willing to have dollars that could be used for police/ems/fire, spent on this band instead???

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Originally Posted by zipperiffic

The city could have moved the State of the City address to a place that really demonstrates the state of the city: The Ford Auditorium. Surely more than a few light bulbs are still working in that place. The heat may not work, but people could keep their coats on. It truly reflects the state of the city today: great promise, little action.

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Yeah... that's a brilliant idea.... no heat, no electricity.... everybody sitting in the dark getting their coats covered in dust from the moldy seats.... no microphone... no hearing the speech...

Pointless....

What a sour note from the DSO Unions! But keep on striking. Don't give in to those elitist demands. Create your own public concert for the people.

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Originally Posted by guito13

I have heard that the city has a hard time providing basic city services. IMO, the DSO is nice but a luxury and people [[voters/residents) should lobby for these essential services to improve rather than fight for a high class band in their city.

For those of you who support them, are you willing to have dollars that could be used for police/ems/fire, spent on this band instead???

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what the....?
you guys are acting like the DSO is paid for by city taxes...last i checked it was entirely privately funded, lol! its not like the players are city workers with pensions!

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Originally Posted by WaCoTS

what the....?
you guys are acting like the DSO is paid for by city taxes...last i checked it was entirely privately funded, lol! its not like the players are city workers with pensions!

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regardless of funding sources, it seems to be a national issue.

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The US supports a plethora of top-flight orchestras, with many, like the DSO, the offspring of the golden age of America's manufacturing cities. But with a number of those cities in decline, many orchestras are on the brink:
Baltimore The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has accepted successive pay cuts that will reduce the base pay of players to 2001 levels. As its English horn player put it: "We're devastated."
Charleston An agreement to cut the staff of players by 25% this year was not sufficient to save the Charleston Symphony Orchestra from disaster. The donations on which it depends were down so much that in March it cancelled all its concerts for the rest of this year.
Cincinnati In 2009 the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was mired in multi-million dollar debts, and had lost its lucrative recording contract. But this turned into a good news story when local philanthropist Louise Nippert donated $85 million as a gift that should make up the CSO's shortfall for years to come.
Cleveland One of the 'big five' ensembles in the US, the Cleveland Orchestra is facing $2 million deficits this year. Its players have agreed a two-year pay freeze having gone on a one-day walkout last year. Its musicians clearly fear the Detroit effect – 17 members of the orchestra have played with the DSO strikers in their fundraising performances. Across the country, professional orchestral musicians have donated $80,000 to DSO's strike fund.
Colorado The Colorado Symphony Orchestra last year agreed a 13% pay cut and a month of unpaid leave for its musicians in the face of extreme deficits.
Honolulu The Honolulu Symphony is currently bankrupt, and has been silent since November 2009. Founded in 1900, and having survived two world wars and the Great Depression, its musicians are out of work.
Philadelphia Another of the 'big five', the Philadelphia Orchestra is facing possible bankruptcy and is requiring emergency funding to tie it over. It has suffered from a slump in ticket sales and faces difficult negotiations between management and players over a restructuring plan.

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