President's Report

Elections in November …Elections this year will be by mail ballot and will be completed on November 17th. I will not be running for the office of President at the end of my current term. I have some personal and professional commitments that need more attention than I can give while serving in this capacity. I have some potential candidates in mind, unfortunately, some that I had in mind have departed the area, but I welcome those who are interested in running for any elected office to contact me and meet to discuss your potential candidacy. … 
Florida Philharmonic Chapter 11 Bankruptcy … As of the status hearing on July 18, we have agreed to another extension until August 22 in order to allow the group that is attempting to re-organize the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra adequate time to raise the funds necessary to move forward. The alternative is Chapter 7, which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid. We’ll keep you posted. Jay Bertolet will be going to 1-day conference presented by the AFM regarding Troubled Orchestras. Unfortunately, there are all too many of them around the country, but there are also some success stories, and I’m sure discussions will cover all of those situations. … Palm Beach Opera Negotiations … A tentative agreement, subject to ratification by the players, has been reached between Local 655 and the Palm Beach Opera in contract talks which took place in June. The Orchestra Committee, which includes Rochelle Gnagey Skolnick (Former Chair, who put most of this report together), Diane Weisberg (New Chair), Jennifer Potochnic, Erika Venable and Karen Hebermehl (Alternate, who will fill the remaining term for Rochelle Gnagey Skolnick), together with AFM Symphonic Negotiator Chris Durham and me, met for three very productive days with members of management's team. The result is a three-year agreement which includes, among other things: wage increases of 3, 4, and 5% in each of three years; pension contributions of 7.5, 8, and 8.5% in each of three years; a 28-day cancellation policy for all services; a new appeals committee structure giving the final authority in musical-performance player dismissal to the appeals committee; compensation for members of audition committees; and increased player input on hiring of extras and granting of tenure. All of us involved in the negotiation process feel pleased with the outcome of these negotiations, especially given the current economic climate. A ratification vote will take place by mail (to be completed by August 1st) in order to allow a greater number of players to vote. On a personal note, a heartfelt thanks to Rochelle, who is moving to St. Louis. Rochelle, along with her husband Hank (a former member of the FPO), have been a great asset to our musical community on all levels and they will be missed. My sincerest wish for their continued happiness and success. … Farewell, Part 1 … It has been an honor to work on behalf of the musicians of Local 655. Although I didn’t accomplish as much as I had hoped to, my fondest hope is that the membership feels that things are better than they were 6 years ago when we took control of the Local after years in Trusteeship. To those of you that have “stepped up to the plate” and have been pro-active in your efforts to improve the working conditions of our musicians, I applaud you and hope that you will continue those efforts. Although there are too many to name, I especially want to thank the musicians in the recording field that have helped improve the situation as far as getting projects under contract and getting the benefits for the musicians that are so richly deserved. To those that have not made an effort to help improve “your” Union, I can only hope that you will become more involved. You cannot elect fellow musicians to these positions and then sit back and say “do something”, it doesn’t work that way. Working conditions are made better by all of us, every day, every time the phone rings, by doing the right thing. Work for those that do the right thing, question those that ask you to do a non-union date as to why they won’t file contracts and work with them to get them to do so. Generally I’ve found that once these buyers understand that it isn’t that difficult, we can get these engagements under contract. The old homily is true and I said it when I started, and I’ll say it again, “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”  … We’ll stay in touch…you do the same …
Share/Save/Bookmark

Write reply

This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it

Comments must be approved before being published.