President's Report
As the time approaches for summer vacations and some well-deserved "down-time" for many of our members, I hope each of you finds the time and "space" to spend some time with family and friends.
Membership & Life Insurance
Our May 18th membership meeting turned into a lively debate once the topic turned to the subject of whether or not to continue having a group life insurance policy as a benefit of membership. The discussion became quite heated at times, but overall produced a much needed forum for each side to air its opinions and was very productive. Both sides ended up understanding the other’s opinion a little better and left the meeting by charging the Executive Board with the duty to explore alternatives including to:
1) Contact the IEB regarding the initiative from the convention to look into life insurance to see if there have been any developments that would be helpful to our membership;
2) Determine the exact cost of continuing the life insurance on a voluntary basis. Your local had inquired but only got as far as "it's prohibitive" and didn't pursue it further. We now will;
3) Report our findings back to the membership at another meeting scheduled in such a manner so as to be able to make an informed decision prior to the assessing of next year’s annual dues.
Florida Philharmonic Negotiations Begin … Again
The last contract was for only two years, so here we are again. The members of the orchestra have been working together to prepare for the negotiations that are scheduled to begin on June 8th. Lenny Leibowitz will be leading our team in these negotiations. He is one of the most respected attorneys in the field of symphonic contract negotiations, and we are pleased to have him as our negotiator, as well as our Local 655 counsel.
SFX Negotiations Begin … Again
Recently, we told you about contract negotiations breaking down after much effort was expended trying to improve conditions for a vastly underpaid group of musicians performing for touring Broadway musicals coming through the South Florida region. Lenny Leibowitz and I recently reconvened with SFX management in New York on April 25 to seek a means to get the negotiations back on track.
Lenny and I will be meeting the musicians represented by this collective bargaining agreement on June 7th to prepare a proposal for SFX management. We will keep you posted as negotiations continue.
"I don't play for the Philharmonic or for the Broadway shows, why should I care?"
Because! If "we" are to be a "union", then "we" must stand together. Not just when it's our job that's on the line, or when it's convenient, but, because the "we" is "me."
Now that I have been involved in a number of negotiations, it has become apparent that at some point, an organized job action may have to be taken in order to attain even the most reasonable goals.
There's no telling whether either of these two negotiations will require that level of involvement; hopefully not. A job action is the absolute last option we ever want to consider. But if it does come to pass, then those who are not directly involved, MUST become involved.
As I sit in this position as President of Local 655, trying to reconcile the battles of the "we's, us's & them's," I have vacillated from "absolute total frustration" to "absolute total joy" and back again. The frustration is that I thought I might be able to mobilize more of you to actively participate in the decisions that can affect your livelihood. The pension fund benefits alone should make those leaders not filing, and those sidemen not getting the benefits, want to participate, not just because it's required, but because it's the right thing to do. You're still staying away in droves!
The joy is seeing individuals and groups realizing the empowerment they gain by standing together. That is a powerful and exciting thing to watch and be a part of.
I have a little more than one year left in this term, and a lot of frustration and joy are surely to follow. The question is, which one will triumph?
I'll stay in touch; you do the same…
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