music

Hang together Union Brothers. Stand Strong and vote NO!

Wish I could get a 7.6 contribution to my retirement. This is govt mandated, just as all PERA contributions are for public employees, but it is out of sinc with the non public (the other taxpayers) benefit and should fluctuate with the times.

It certainly doesn't appear that the Board of the SPCO is interested in anything other than pushing through their agenda and calling it "negotiating." It smacks of corporate greediness plain and simple. The Chamber Orchestra is truly a gem. That the musicians are being treated in this manner by their board is a travesty. Shame on you, Dobson West. You are no better than Gordon Gekko.

Our SPCO is not just a local treasure, it is internationally known and loved. And the pay they receive already is well below that of comparable chamber orchestras, which makes all of this that much more maddening. The current management stance appears to be "take it or leave it" with no willingness to negotiate. For shame!

The members of the various orchestras need to realize that the live or die at the will of the concert-goers. If the public finds them to be too much of an expensive pleasure, the orchestra members need to adjust. Orchestra are in dire straits all over the country. I'm all for the two local orchestras, but it's high time for a reality check.

Rather than keep talking, management just slapped the faces of employees and patrons. It's time for new management at both major orchestras in the Twin Cities.

I just don't get it. In a state where we are and have been spending billions of dollars on sports palaces, our truly world-class treasures -the SPCO and the Minnesota Orchestra are slowly being starved to death. In baseball, if a hitter gets a hit 1/3 of the time, he is considered very good. In the world of professional music, only 100% accuracy is even acceptable. Someone please help me understand our priorities here. There is government money involved in all of the sports palaces, why not our world-class musical treasures? Come on now!!!

Well, I suppose locked out is better than permanently shut down.

Does this shock anyone? The climate in this country is to either lock out or offshore. They want their musicians to take a 30% pay cut. 30%. That is huge. If this Orchestra is as good as everyone says it is, it is not because of management, it is because of the musicians. Perhaps management should take a permanent job cut.

How come AFSME, Teamsters, AFL CIO are not lining up to purchase all the available tickets to keep SPCO from losing $1M this year?