Striking musicians, left to right, violinist Nisi Howell, bassist Rob Kassinger, and President of Chicago Federation of Musicians Gary Matts, stand outside of Symphony Center in Chicago. (Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune / September 22, 2012)
People going to Symphony Center for the Chicago Symphony concert under the direction of Ricardo Muti--featuring the music of Respighi--got a surprise Saturday night.
The orchestra is on strike.
Of course the orchestra has been on strike before (Their last time was in 1991), but coming so soon after the teacher strike has got people talking. And not in a good way.
The first story I linked to was the breaking news blurb. Notice how it's straightforward, just saying talks had broken down and that the musicians walked out before the concert. It also had information for ticket holders on their options.
It had a statement from management:
“The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is committed to working diligently and negotiating in good faith with the Union to achieve a new collective bargaining agreement that provides a sustainable platform for jobs with competitive wages, benefits and work rules,”
But nothing from the CFM (Chicago Federation of Musicians)--one of the most powerful musicians unions in the country.
But then the knives began coming out. Oh, it's not overt union bashing, but it's little digs--every article, for instance, mentioning the average salary including overtime--about $173,000. And even comments by the Union Chief of the orchestra are reported with a bias:
“We were negotiating all day today after having negotiated many times,” Lester said. “We’ve been doing a lot of negotiating. There was movement, but there remained serious economic issues that were not being addressed by the association. They were trying to force us into a concessionary contract, reducing our benefits and making it difficult for the orchestra to pay for health care and keep our basic standard of life.”
As for the cause of the negotiation breakdown, Lester said, “It was the final economic proposal (from the association), which still required us to take a decrease in compensation and exorbitant increases in the cost of health care. We’re hopeful that we will continue negotiating soon."
He denied that they walked away from the negotiating table.
And there it is: Now the accusation is out there that it was the fault of the "greedy orchestra" for walking away. And the comment sections are full of that temperament. And there was one comment in the actual news stories that made it to more than one local website reporting on the story:
Rick and Esther Baumgarten of Lincoln Park said they were "disgusted" by the strike and said he wasn't convinced that union members considered the impact on fans.
"We love the symphony," said Mr. Baumgarten, a 40-year subscriber. "We consider it to be one of the best in the world. I don't think I can sit and listen to them the same way again. I'll be tempted to boo them the next time I watch them, rather than cheer.
And there were NO repeat NO comments from the public in SUPPORT of the orchestra. None. I wonder if they even tried to find one.
Now speaking as a musician, there is one thing that made me cheer out loud. Bassist Stephen Lester, the chairman of the Orchestra Members Committee said the following:
“There is a fundamental disagreement over what a successful orchestra is and what it means, and there’s a fundamental disagreement over the role of musicians...the negotiating style of the association has led us to question the seriousness of their desire for a contract.”
And that lies at the core of the situation. It reminds me of a meme being spread around. It's about hiring musicians and paying for them. It goes something like this:
A guy calls the local musicians' union to get a quote on a six-piece band for a wedding. The union rep says: "Off the top of my head, I'd say about two thousand dollars." The guy jumps out of his chair exclaiming, "TWO THOUSAND!? ARE YOU KIDDING? FOR MUSIC?!?"
The AFM rep responds, "Well, let me suggest this. How about you call the plumbers' union, and ask for six plumbers to work from six to midnight on a Saturday night. Whatever they charge you, we'll work for half."