Statement of Condemnation Regarding Musician Furloughs

Submitted by the ICSOM Governing Board

Whereas, The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant economic challenges for ICSOM orchestras; and

Whereas, The vast majority of ICSOM orchestras have responded to those challenges not by laying off or furloughing musicians, but instead by continuing to pay salary in full or in part and maintaining health insurance and other benefits for their musicians; and

Whereas, A handful of ICSOM orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Nashville Symphony, have chosen a different path and have furloughed their musicians; and

Whereas, Of the employers who have furloughed musicians, only one, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, has terminated the musicians’ health insurance; and

Whereas, Cutting off health insurance during a pandemic is a particularly cruel and despicable action; and

Whereas, An orchestra cannot be saved by abandoning the musicians it comprises; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Officers and Delegates to the 2020 ICSOM Conference condemn all orchestral employers who, contrary to the vast majority of their peers, have furloughed or plan to furlough musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic; and, be it further

Resolved, That ICSOM condemns in particular the management of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for terminating the health insurance benefits of its musicians; and, be it further

Resolved, That ICSOM urges all orchestral employers to recognize that the health of their organizations cannot be separated from the health of their musicians, to negotiate in good faith with their musicians to find ways to ensure their well-being in this time of crisis, and to reject any approach that prioritizes the future prospects of the organization over its musicians, without whom the organization cannot exist.

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Inclusivity Resolution

Submitted by the ICSOM Governing Board and members of the ICSOM DEI Forum – Alberto Suarez (Kansas City), Stephanie McNab (San Francisco Opera), Rufus Olivier Jr. (San Francisco Ballet & Opera), Weston Sprott (Metropolitan Opera), Judy Dines (Houston) & John Lofton (LA Phil)

Whereas, The recent violent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many other people of color, which inspired protesters across the world to demand justice and equality, have awakened our consciousness to the long-standing, systemic racial discrimination and inequities in our society that also exist in our orchestral institutions; and

Whereas, Our orchestras have not met the call for greater diversity, as is demonstrated by the disproportionately low percentage of ICSOM musicians who are Black (1.8%) or Latinx (2.4%), despite decades of efforts to rectify this inequity; and

Whereas, Building and maintaining a vibrant, civically engaged institution that can advance the experience of orchestral music within our communities demands a commitment to racial equity; and

Whereas, To ignore that commitment perpetuates a status quo of inequity, which then creates a barrier to the very artistic vibrancy and civic engagement that is our mission as orchestral musicians; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Officers and Delegates to the 2020 ICSOM Conference call on all ICSOM musicians to advance a deeper understanding of the racial inequities that exist within our orchestras, and, be it further

Resolved, That ICSOM recognizes the acute need for sustained and meaningful action to redress entrenched systemic discrimination towards people of color, which has resulted in their significant underrepresentation in all positions within our orchestral institutions; and, be it further

Resolved, That ICSOM acknowledges the many forms of discrimination in addition to race and ethnicity discrimination, including but not limited to discrimination on the basis of age, sex, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic status, against which we must also be vigilant; and, be it further

Resolved, That ICSOM must redouble its efforts to increase the diversity of our orchestral institutions, to work with managements and boards to build institutions that reflect the vast heterogeneity of American society, and to take immediate action towards righting these inequities in order to better reach and serve all members of our communities.

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Honoring Herman Benson

Submitted by Helen Reich (Milwaukee) on behalf of Robert Levine, President, Local 8 AFM and ICSOM Chairperson Emeritus & by Debbie Brooks (Fort Worth)

Whereas, Herman Benson died on July 2, 2020 at the age of 105; and

Whereas, Benson was the founder of the Association for Union Democracy in 1969 and edited its influential newsletter, Union Democracy Review, for decades; and

Whereas, Benson was the co-drafter of the Landrum-Griffin Act, also known as the “Bill of Rights for union members,” which was enacted by Congress and signed into law in 1959; and

Whereas, Ken Paff of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, who spoke at the 1998 Unity Conference, described him as “a one-man army in the union democracy movement”; and

Whereas, Benson spoke to the 1987 ICSOM Conference, describing the formation of ICSOM as “a unique example of unionists using their rights within a democratic organization” that “in some other unions… would have been squelched, with the perpetrators being blacklisted, fined, expelled, or worse”; and

Whereas, Benson was a staunch supporter and friend of ICSOM and its efforts over the decades to make the AFM more responsive to the needs of symphony musicians; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Delegates to the 2020 ICSOM Conference honor Herman Benson’s memory and express their profound gratitude for his help and inspiration both to ICSOM and to all those who believe in union democracy.