 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ken
Date: 2003-03-11 13:57
A magnificent display of union strength and solidarity! Now, back on your heads. ![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-03-11 14:06
BUMMER-- Both sites require a screed of registration data before you can acess the articles. I guess I'll wait until my local "Bellybutton Gazzete"
publishes it.
Bob A
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2003-03-11 14:28
OK, John,
You report it is over. The radio does the same. I went to your links and they want you to sign in. I surfed the web and no one has the story yet.
Obviously there was a compormise and the radio isn't reporting what it was. Yesterday the news on the web was the owners said "15 folks in the pit take it or leave it". What was the compromise?
Terry
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-03-11 14:54
Thank God. Nothing personal and no offense meant, but this was starting to get as old as the Iraqui thing on the news...
Glad to hear Broadway musicians are going back to work!
Peter
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Author: William
Date: 2003-03-11 15:19
I hope that a "non retrebution" agreement was included in your compromise. That would preclude the management "getting back" at you in future job related condition changes.
In any case, a Great Day for Live Music. WAY TO GO Local 802 (and also to your actor and stagehand friends in a supurb show of union solidarity)
(play well tonight!!!)
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2003-03-11 15:20
Sorry, hit the button twice.
Post Edited (2003-03-11 16:21)
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2003-03-11 15:20
Here is an report that describes the settlement:
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BROADWAY_STRIKE?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=HOME
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-03-11 15:33
Here's the latest from AP:
March 11, 2003
Broadway Musicians, Producers Reach Deal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:09 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Striking musicians settled a contract dispute with theater producers Tuesday to end a walkout that shut down 18 musicals since Friday, agreeing to a smaller number of musicians in the largest Broadway theaters.
``We have great news,'' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ``Broadway is no longer dark.''
Both sides said that after four days without the shows, the theaters would reopen Tuesday night. ``We went out together, and we're going back together,'' said union head Bill Moriarity.
The dispute that led to Friday's strike was over minimums, the smallest number of musicians required for a Broadway orchestra. That figure is set by the size of the theater, with the largest houses currently requiring 24 to 26 musicians.
The union agreed to reduce the minimum in the 13 largest theaters to 18 or 19 musicians. Although the new contract is for four years, the minimum number will remain in effect for a decade, Moriarity said.
``While we have made some reductions in the house minimum, we have preserved live Broadway,'' Moriarity said. ``We will continue to provide the best music you will ever hear in your life.''
The two sides bargained for nearly 12 hours through the night at the mayoral mansion. The mayor, citing Broadway's enormous contributions to the city economy, became personally involved in the talks at Gracie Mansion.
``This was an extremely difficult negotiation,'' said Jed Bernstein, speaking for the theater owners. ``Neither side got everything it wanted.''
The strike began after talks between the League of American Theatres and Producers and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians broke down. When actors and stagehands refused to cross the picket lines, all but one of Broadway's 19 musicals were shuttered.
The impasse has cost city businesses more than $7 million, with weekend box office losses estimated at another $4.8 million. The losses come at a particularly bad time for a city struggling with high unemployment and massive deficits.
The producers initially demanded no minimums, then offered seven. They raised that on Friday to 15 for the biggest theaters, but the musicians' union refused the proposal.
The union feared the loss of minimums, saying that producers are really seeking to slash the number of musicians for economic reasons. Musicians say they need staff minimums to help protect artistic freedom.
The battle was being waged on already shaky economic ground, said Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the city's agency for tourism. He warned of ``significant job losses'' if the strike is not resolved.
Broadway's total economic contribution to the city is estimated at more than $4 billion yearly, tourism and theater officials say.
The strike affected about 325 musicians, whose contract expired March 2. Broadway musicians last went on strike in September 1975, shutting down nine musicals for 25 days.
The settlement was good news for theatergoers like Crystal Heitman, who is spending her spring break from the University of Notre Dame in New York.
``I've always been a big fan of musicals and one of the big reasons that I came up here this week was to see a show,'' Heitman said. ``I'd really like to see maybe 'The Lion King' or 'Les Mis,' but I'd really be happy to see anything.''
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-03-11 15:35
HAving suffered through the agonizing 90-second process of registration at the NY Times site, my take is that both articles are pretty skimpy. The minimums for the largest theatres are reported reduced to "18-19" musicians (however you do that), but there's not a word about any 5% pay increase. The contract is said to be for four years, but minimum status will extend for ten.
One of the pages cited offers the URL http://www.broadway.org which has a blurb of maybe 200 words giving no details, except that the theaters will be lit tonight (some shows starting at 7:00 rather than 8:00). Also provided is the Musician's Union website http://www.afm.org which as of a few minutes ago showed nothing at all about the settlement, having instead a "Help Save Broadway" appeal.
Regards,
John
Post Edited (2003-03-11 16:39)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-11 15:46
I am happy for JJM and all the 802 musicians who continue to bring us the magic which is Broadway.
However, live music now was just slashed by another 25%, with the resulting difference in the sound no doubt being made up by more electronic sweetening of the pit.
Somehow, I am not jumping for joy...GBK
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-03-11 15:47
Personally, I'm disappointed that the Musician's Union wasn't able to maintain the present minimums. In ten years they'll be reduced again, and 10 years after that they'll reduce them again ...
Let's hope that the modern composers exert pressure to keep the orchestras at or above the minimums all the time. Already we don't get to see revivals with the orchestration that was written for them - instead we have amplification of smaller sections. It isn't going to get better ...
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-03-11 15:53
Hmmm ... there's two of us posting simultaneously about exactly the same sentiment (GBK's posting wasn't yet up when I was composing mine).
I don't know how much was actually gained in the settlement. Hopefully the Local 802 members will be able to put everything in context and vote for something that helps them not just now, but in the future.
Hopefully it was not a Hobson's choice ...
Post Edited (2003-03-11 17:01)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-11 15:57
It's obvious that Mark and I had the same thoughts at about the same time.
Not sure if that's good or bad...GBK
Post Edited (2003-03-11 20:21)
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-03-11 16:20
Ah, hah! A conspiracy. Which one of you is sitting on the grassy knoll?
JJM, congrats on a great, if only partially rewarded, effort. Everyone lives to fight another day, and now this issue is firmly in the spotlight. Maybe the critics will make a point to comment on the orchestration and whether it is well executed and proportional to the scale of the show when they offer their reviews.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-11 16:33
Let's do some very rough math:
The number of currently working Broadway musicians: +/- 325
25% fewer musicians: +/- 80
Average yearly Broadway musician's salary: +/- $80,000
The producers/owners just put another $6,400,000 in their pockets...GBK
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Author: Eileen
Date: 2003-03-11 16:54
As someone who has been on the union negotiating team for my office and has been through contract negotiations (including one 50 hour marathon settlement negotiation), congratulations on reaching a tentative agreement. While this is definitely a step back, those who are criticizing are operating in a vacuum. The economy is terrible. We are about to start a war. Unions everywhere in every industry are not in a great bargaining position right now. Everyday the news has reports about union concessions, layoffs, takebacks, etc. You do the best you can with what you have.
By the way, whenever I want to look at a site which asks for annoying personal information, I just make up fake names and fake email addresses (end it with yahoo.com or hotmail.com or another well-known address). Helps cut down on the junk mail!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-11 17:20
I am hoping that there are other benefits to the musicians that at this time have not been made public, and JJM will soon add the appropriate facts.
The fact remains that despite the economy and other political factors, Broadway (up until this past week) has had their most successful year in decades.
The loss of any number of musician seats is bad news. Those chairs are gone forever.
Even when the economy rebounds, as it always does, when the potential monetary savings starts trickling down to the pockets of the producers, anyone who thinks that those cuts in house minimums will ever be restored is the one who is living in a vacuum...GBK
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Author: Andy
Date: 2003-03-11 21:11
Not for one minute do I pretend to now the intricate details of the negotiations that have taken place in this matter, but I too see no reason to be exultant and the outcome.
As HAT said in a previous thread on this topic:
Once a chair is negotiated away, it will never never come back. . gone forever
So in effect the union have caved in and again we are left with fewer jobs in a growing field. Thanks guys for putting another 80 or so muso's on the unemployment market......
I just hope next time we have to go through this again, people have the will to last and not forget what they are fighting for. It will most likely not be the experienced players who will lose their gigs. It will probably be the young 20-30 year olds who are great players trying to break into a market (that over night become even harder to break into) that will now not get the gigs. They in turn will not be able to pay the rent or put bread on the table, and sooner or later wonderful muso's turn their back on the craft because for the sake of saving their own asses, some union men who they proabably didn't even know that well, agreed that their jobs were expendable, and over night they became unemployed,
A sad day for musicians everywhere. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE HAPPY WITH THIS OUTCOME
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Author: kgl
Date: 2003-03-11 21:30
I may be missing something, but I see nothing good about today's tentative agreement.
It's heartbreaking, and a very sad day for musicians and for all people who love music. It's another blow to the future of live music and another nail in the coffin of future generations of musicians.
It speaks volumes about the incredible greed of people who should be at least as concerned with nurturing artistry and excellence in performance as they are in maintaining the absurd level of their bottom lines.
The short-term relief of NYC officials and tourist industry providers in my mind pales in comparison to the devastating effect this will have on the future of this very special and precious group of talented individuals, and on the remarkable product which they provide and which is so often taken for granted.
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-03-11 22:04
Dear Friends:
I am exhausted and very disappointed with this proposed settlement. Again, thank you for your continued support, advice, and comments. They all went to the proper sources.
The proposed settlement still needs to be ratified by the membership, and I don't know if that will come to pass. The more than 100 fellow musicians I have spoken to, or heard from by telephone or email, have almost unanimously voiced opposition to the agreement.
In addition to the loss of up to 6 musicians per show, we have lost our voice on the "special situations" clause, that is, many important people will not be heard, or have a vote on the new shows that want to use even less than the reduced minimums.
Health, hospitalization, welfare, and others benefits have not yet been presented to the membership, so I can't comment on those points. But, suffice it to say, we did not gain from the protracted negotiation, even with the strong support of our brothers and sisters from the other Unions. That is very disappointing.
We go back to work tonight...but I suspect this is not over yet.
Stay tuned,
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-03-12 02:02
This is what was agreed upon at the final meeting last night by the special mediator, the Broadway Committee & the League:
"1. Article V Minimums
a. The minimums (including leader) are now as follows at the following theatres for ten years.
Broadway, Marquis, St.James, Minskoff, Ford Center, New Amsterdam - 19
Majestic, Gershwin, Palace, Lunt-Fontanne, Imperial, Shubert, Winter Garden - 18
Richard Rodgers, Neil Simon, Martin Beck - 14
Broadhurst, Virginia - 12
Barrymore, Music Box, and Plymouth - 9
Brooks Atkinson, Eugene O'Neill, Royale - 8
Longacre, Nederlander - 4
Ambassador, Belasco, Boothe, Circle in the Square, Cort, Golden, Walter Kerr, Lyceum - 3
2. Article II.F. Just Cause
Effective after the eighth (8th) service, no musician shall be dismissed except for just cause.
3. Article XIII Sect. I Health and Safety
Language was added to include broader health standards, and financial onus is on the Employer/Producer
4. Article V.E Special Situations
The Executive Board is no longer the first step in the process. Requests go directly to the panel of neutrals yet to be listed.
Saturday Night Fever was removed from the provisionary list.
The memorandum will address this in more detail.
The term of this contract is four (4) years.
Wage increase is 11.5 % over the term of the contract in six (6) month increments. (2.75/yr)
(I believe it translates to $1385 now to $1500)
Please know that this is not a complete listing of the agreement, but rather points I found important. The memorandum will hopefully be in far more detail and will be available before the ratification meeting to be scheduled sometime this weekend."
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-03-12 16:53
As a performer who works in a Union I can honestly say that for the next generation the competiition for work is going to get more feirce. The situation is booking agents and production people are trying to get more for less and of course this means fewer paying jobs. This whole thing affects every aspiring performer in some what. Broadway is the litmus test and what it means is that players have to stand up for their rights and the rights of other players!
This is not an easy situation for anyone. I have also been on greivance committees and negotiation teams and know that this type of deal is tough on the players.
I also think that alot of players also need to know the business end of being a working musician in order to protect their livliehood, and not too many people teach that stuff.
Sincerely
dd
David Dow
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