Miami-Dade Mayor Levine has withdrawn her proposal to merge the department of cultural affairs with the library department and cut arts grants by over 50 percent. This reversal is due to protests from the community, including our own President Hawley, who spoke to the mayor about the devastating impact the arts cuts would have. Things are looking better, but nothing will be finalized until the county commission votes in September, so please keep up the pressure!
Palm Beach Opera Orchestra member Laura Winters represented the orchestra at the recent Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) conference in Philadelphia. In addition to participating in the negotiations workshop, she heard from presenters on leadership roles, health issues for musicians, and on diversity and equity. Laura was also elected to the ROPA board as a Member at Large.
Several musicians who were hired to perform for Nova University graduations have been waiting months to be paid. As a first step, they have reached out to the University and will be taking advantage of wage theft ordinances to file claims with the county.
The Palm Beach Opera Appeals Committee has voted to reinstate a musician who was wrongfully dismissed. The contract requires due process to protect musicians from being arbitrarily disciplined, and the committee found that the Opera did not have valid grounds to dismiss the musician. Musicians only have this type of protection due to language in our contracts protecting them; without a contract, you are an at-will employee that can be fired at any time, and no reason need be given. All the more reason to be working under union contracts!
Fourteen members attended our August membership meeting. Members discussed parking fees at the Kravis Center, the Miami-Dade proposed arts cuts, the annual ROPA conference, wager theft claims, and member Scott Whitney’s recent marriage. Congratulations, Scott!