Issue:
Issue: June 2019
To get a sense of how the orchestras of ICSOM are doing currently, we asked every orchestra’s delegate to provide a short blurb about what is happening of note in their orchestra. Charter members of ICSOM are denoted with *. Alabama Symphony Orchestra Founded: 1997 Joined ICSOM: 1998 (the predecessor Birmingham Symphony was a member of ICSOM from 1975–1995) AFM Local: 256-733 The Alabama … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
ICSOM has reported on the basic elements of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contract settlement, including wage increases of 13.25% over five years, no increase in healthcare costs to musicians, and the conversion of our pension to a hybrid type of defined contribution plan with an indexed, increasing, guaranteed benefit for the next 20 years. We must thank each of the 34 orchestras of ICSOM and … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
Solidarity, along with collective action, is the heart and soul of a strong union. Recognizing the interests and objectives we share with our brothers and sisters engenders a sense of unity. The conscious affirmation of this unity creates an environment where mutual service is encouraged. Yet, for participation to be most meaningful, we must actively practice solidarity—oftentimes having to choose … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
At both the 2016 AFM convention in Las Vegas and the 2016 ICSOM Conference in Washington, DC, resolutions were adopted in support of substitute musicians receiving the same per-service base pay as the regularly contracted musicians in our orchestras. I thought that it would be important to visit this topic three years later to see the progress that ICSOM has made in this area, as well as to … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
On behalf of the ICSOM Electronic Media Committee, I am pleased to report that the AFM has recently concluded negotiations with the Employers’ Media Association (EMA) on a successor Integrated Media Agreement (IMA), after many months of arduous and intense negotiations. We on the Media Committee unanimously recommend its ratification. The AFM will use ElectionBuddy to facilitate the … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
Update: On May 30, the Baltimore Symphony management called an emergency meeting and announced the cancellation of the BSO summer season. This sudden action, despite a recently approved $3.2 million grant from the State of Maryland, also suspends the tenth BSO Academy, the subject of this article. In spite of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s current tenuous contract state, the BSO Academy … [Read more...]
Issue: Counsel's Columns
Contract disputes between orchestra managements and musicians are nearly always resolved pursuant to the grievance and arbitration process. I am not aware of any ICSOM orchestra’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that does not contain a grievance and arbitration clause. Nonetheless, the process strikes many musicians as mysterious. One of the questions I hear most frequently is who, exactly, … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
It had been two decades since the Cleveland Orchestra (TCO) visited China. In late March, the members of the orchestra set out for a three-week tour of Taiwan, Macao and mainland China, including the cities of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Beijing. Some of the musicians were eager to revisit the same cities they had seen in the 1990s, meet parents of students they taught at the … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra faces great challenges and difficult times. The fiscal collapse of the government, the stagnation of the economy, the public debt, the loss of the population, and the actuarial deficit of the retirement systems, threaten the stability of the social environment of Puerto Rico. The high cost of energy, the loss of benefits, and the rise in taxes gradually make the … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
John C. Merrill Act Baltimore Symphony musicians have been playing without a contract since January 16, 2019. In this context, the passage of Maryland House bill 1404, introduced by the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Delegate Maggie McIntosh, providing $1.6 million in each of the next two fiscal years, was most welcome. In addition to providing additional funding for two years, the bill … [Read more...]
