I can't believe nobody has said anything about this terrible situation either on the front page of MyAuditions or on this discussion. Here are details...
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news...08/05/08/picnic.html
http://www.adaptistration.com/adaptistration/2008/05/columbus-board.html

wow, that is very unfortunate. i thought for sure they'd reach some kind of agreement. i wish the musicians best of luck with this horrible ordeal

That really stinks. Sorry to hear that. I hope all the musicians will be okay.

I, for one, am glad that it has come to this.

Either the board wasn't invested enough, and this will allow those with the passion to regroup and form a stronger organization... or everyone will see the writing on the wall (if that's the case) that there is just not enough interest in the town for a this type of cultural institution with its budget.

Either way, everyone will HAVE to think about what really matters, and what is really feasible... which would never have happened with the situation the way it was.

I would be curious to hear why the musicians rejected the boards' proposals.

We rejected the board's proposals because we believe that either firing 22 people and then taking a 30% pay cut from the remaining full time musicians or maintaining our current 53 full time members but taking a 40% pay cut with no restoration whatsoever was slightly drastic. See, they want us to shoulder the burden of 60% of the $3 million cut from the budget. And we just don't think that's quite fair since at this point, musicians' expenses only account for between 40 and 42 percent of the budget. The numbers just aren't adding up.

quote:

Originally posted by Slacker Kind:
I, for one, am glad that it has come to this.

Lemme get this straight:

You are GLAD that 53 pro musicians may lose their jobs and not be able to feed their families, due to an incompetent management and indifferent board??

That's the lamest comment I have ever seen on this site. Whatever you do in life, I hope that YOU lose your job tomorrow, so that you have a little time to reflect on your comment.

A sad ed. cartoon:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/export-content/sites/dispa...ies/stahler_main.gif

Looking at Denver, New Orleans, and other places I don't think there is much evidence for the thought that a city will have a stronger orchestra after it's resident ensemble folds its tents and is replaced by a new organization. We even tried that for a very brief time in San Antonio in the 80s during a work stoppage.

I hold out hope that Columbus musicians will persevere and find a way to motivate the CSO managements to commit to not only a financially stable organization, but an artistically important and professionally rewarding organization.

On one hand, I can understand the musicians standing up for what seems like a ridiculous offer. But if I were in that position, I’d still rather get some pay then nothing at all. That's why I'm surprised it didn't get settled. At least with some other groups that don’t pay as much, players probably have other work lined up. However, since CSO pay is (I’m guessing) the bulk of the players’ income, I don’t see why this is the best option, other than trying to make a point to the board. No one really wins in this situation.

Even though some groups have folded (Florida Phil), others like San Antonio were able to come out of it & slowly build back up (at least that what it looks like to me). Hopefully CSO will be able to do the same.

quote:

Originally posted by orchdork:
On one hand, I can understand the musicians standing up for what seems like a ridiculous offer. But if I were in that position, I’d still rather get some pay then nothing at all. That's why I'm surprised it didn't get settled. At least with some other groups that don’t pay as much, players probably have other work lined up. However, since CSO pay is (I’m guessing) the bulk of the players’ income, I don’t see why this is the best option, other than trying to make a point to the board. No one really wins in this situation.

Imagine if this happened to another orchestra, or your orchestra. You are making 52K, and the board offers 33K. Whats to prevent every orchestra in the US from trying the same thing? Whats to prevent the board from offering 20K the next year and 10K the next? Nothing.

As WWgirl mentioned, the numbers dont add up. Think about principals: if you are making 50% over as a principal, you are making 78K currently. If you then get the base cut to 33, you make 49. You just got a pay cut of 29 grand.


Whats not mentioned is what kind of pay cuts the incompetent suits are getting, the soloists, the janitor, the box office worker, etc.

The musicians were 100% correct. They have taken pay cuts in the past, they know the drill. When someone insults you with a ridiculous offer, they arent serious. The offer shows a complete lack of concern, and is really meant more as an obligatory insult than anything else. If they take the offer, a newer, lower offer would be right around the corner.

From everything I've read, Columbus' BOD has demonstrated a rare level of incompetence when it comes to managing an arts organization. That's unfortunate.

I appreciate wwgirl's point about musicians being frustrated that they are being asked to shoulder 60% of the cuts when they make up only 40-42% of the budget. However, it's also worth nothing that any organization has considerable fixed costs that can't be changed. For instance, heat, water, electricity, rent or other payments on facilities, etc. Not every aspect of the budget can be cut proportionately because some parts of the budget, simply put, cannot be cut.

It's easy to blame development for not raising the money, but we should also consider whether development was being asked to meet unreasonable expectations given the orchestra's history and the history of philanthropic giving in Columbus. Soliciting major contributions is difficult when your CEO is running huge deficits and your BOD is spending your endowment.

It's great that the musicians, on their website, want to compare their orchestra to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. And while those cities might be comparable in population and median income, the history of those orchestras in those cities (Indianapolis excepted) is far more storied. These organizations have had generations to build endowments that, assuming a 5% draw, pay for 15-20% of their ENTIRE budget. And Indianapolis aggressively developed its endowment, unlike Columbus, which aggressively spent its endowment.

Like I said earlier, I don't fault musicians for taking raises offered them. Looking at the situation now, maybe the growth trajectory for musician compensation was unsustainable, given other factors. Perhaps the board was irresponsible in that regard. Maybe the orchestra needs new leadership. But what's in the past is in the past. Complaining about what the board did five or ten years ago solves nothing now.

What matters now is that the orchestra and musicians work together to develop a realistic and sustainable plan for operation and growth. Once donors see that the organization is being responsible, then the money will start to come back - but only then. And that requires trust, something that is destroyed when the organization runs 10% deficits and spends down its endowment. I can't bring myself to blame anyone in that city for not donating to the orchestra right now. It's a financial train wreck.

I have little doubt that a solution will be reached. I think we're seeing a lot of posturing from both sides right now. Musicians don't want to be out of work and the BOD has no desire to carry the personal stigma of killing off the orchestra. Reason will prevail... eventually.

I'll take July 11th in the betting pool for when the musicians approve a new CBA.

quote:

Originally posted by ElPolloLoco:
I'll take July 11th in the betting pool for when the musicians approve a new CBA.

At 40K.

As the great Mister Kenny Rogers once sang: "Ya gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em".

ElPolloLoco, I hope you're July 11th date is correct, or close to it, as far as reaching a deal. Its very hard to say right now what's going to happen. My personal opinion (and I only speak for myself, not my entire orchestra) is that the board (or whoever is calling the shots here) is intentionally trying to kill this orchestra so they can either wait a few years and start a new one on a much smaller scale, or simply bring in outside orchestras, such as they have in Florida. I truly hope I'm wrong and that they will begin to bargain in good faith now that they have locked us out for the summer. Only time will tell at this point. I do know that I for one am already trying to figure out what my second career will be.

I have been reading these and other similar boards for a while now, and when a situation like this is playing out (like Jacksonville for example), there are always some people saying that the board is trying to dissolve an orchestra so they can "start over." Is this a conspiracy theory with legs? As far as I know (and I admit I don't know much), it's not ever happened before. Am I wrong (probably!)?

quote:

Originally posted by Jared:
I have been reading these and other similar boards for a while now, and when a situation like this is playing out (like Jacksonville for example), there are always some people saying that the board is trying to dissolve an orchestra so they can "start over." Is this a conspiracy theory with legs? As far as I know (and I admit I don't know much), it's not ever happened before. Am I wrong (probably!)?

When an orchestra gets to the point of considering folding, there is going to be a lot of bad blood between management/board and the players. Therefore, the board generally views the players as ungrateful and is more than happy to see it's demise.

Ive been in a lot of orchestras, including one that folded. Some were run well, some were a joke. AFAIK, there has NEVER been an orchestra that folded that was run well in the US.

If one was in an orchestra with good management, they would generally know it. If that orchestra went down, the players would realize that it indeed is the fault of a community that wont support it. I'm not aware of that ever happening. This forum has talked about several orchestras recently ( Columbus, Jax, Shreveport etc), and there has always been a member of those orchestras commenting here. In every case, every one of them has confirmed that there are SEVERE managerial problems. Its impossible that all of them are lying, or all of them are delusional with "sour grapes" attitudes. The reality: these orchestras have been managed extremely poorly, and the players suffer for it. Since the players are human and rightly complain, in the managerial eyes they are "ungrateful" and they dont care if the organization lives or dies. Happens every time.

Cygnus makes a very good point here. Orchestra musicians usually see their job as doing what they were trained to do: perform. I've often joked that all I need to be happy is for someone to tell me where I'm playing, what I'm playing, when I'm playing, and what I'm supposed to wear. It also helps if the check clears.

Most musicians don't want to be caught up in front office stuff - there's usually a certain hope/trust that those matters will take care of themselves in as professional a manner as those on stage try to account for their own responsibilities to the organization.

The problem is that when the quality of a musician's performance starts to head south, people usually notice right away, and if the situation can't be rectified, it can almost always be solved by hiring someone else who can handle the responsibilities.

With management, problems are often slow to surface and take much longer to fix. Incompetence can take years to reveal itself. A lot of damage can occur during that time, damage that can take years to correct.

Musicians don't run the company, so to say. They just work for the company. So of course when things get bad, they're going to blame the administration. Unless the musicians are putting out an unacceptable product, these issues are always administrative problems. The budgeting could be bad, the fundraising, the marketing, board leadership, you name it. But it's going to be a front office issue.

I spoke of trust in my last post, and it's worth saying that it's equally sad when an orchestra abuses the trust of its musicians. Players show up, work hard, do their job, and trust that everyone else in the organization will do the same. It's sad to see that in Columbus, the trust of the musicians was so badly misplaced.

Realistically, I'm not sure what a "best case" scenario is in Columbus. But whatever it is, I'm sure all of us are hoping that it can be found sooner rather than later.

Jared: You say "As far as I know... its not ever happened before." Actually, our paper here (Columbus Dispatch) wrote an entire article about symphonies who have declared bankruptcy and how they either came back or didn't - check it out here:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/03/2...BA9NHK0.html?sid=101

Whether this was a way to show the patrons and residents of Columbus that its possible to go bankrupt and still possibly eventually have a successful symphony like they did in San Diego, I'm not sure. But, it was sure devastating to us to see an article like that in our newspaper long before anyone was talking about any sort of lockout or shut down - this article came out in March!

And as far as I'm concerned - if the board and management were truly concerned about saving the symphony at this point, where is the "Save the Symphony" fund drive? Why aren't they out there at least trying to do something instead of just giving up? That's what's so disheartening....

This , methinks, is some kind of issue
of "conscience" or "spirituality" for all
"Americans", who have cast their votes since
1980 in support of what (Republican) Eisenhower
warned: about BORROWING 10 trillion $'s to funnel to approx. 25,000 military industrial
contractors who do no work AT ALL however stuff their own bank accounts with the help of some media outlets who go on about "patriotism" and
"terrorism" etc.

The resources EXIST "now" to support ALL cultural endeavors in "America" and to the full.

The military-contractor GREEDIES simply did
a better "sales job" in bamboozling willing politician-weazels with the help of their particular media buddies who perhaps also might profit as per stock holdings etc.

WAR PAYS

One of the saddest things I've observed in this Columbus situation is the local newspaper's complicity. It really has been painful to watch: an editorial board with an axe to grind, and a less-than-competent beat reporter who, rather than work to understand the issues he needs to write about, makes ridiculous assertions and statements first and then acts surprised at the musician's reluctance to talk to him.

Best wishes to all the Columbus folks. Getting to sub there ocassionally when I lived in Indianapolis was an opportunity I'll always be thankful for!