DETROIT, Sept. 3, 2010 — The Detroit Symphony musicians and the Detroit Federation of Musicians will lead a miles-long and thousands-strong Labor Day parade down Woodward Avenue.
The invitation to lead the parade came from Detroit AFL-CIO President Saundra L. Williams, who said: "We want to demonstrate that the DSO musicians have our total support in their fight to save the Detroit Symphony Orchestra – an orchestra internationally regarded as one of America's best. The orchestra is one of Metro Detroit's cultural gems. It is a local symbol of excellence for a city in dire need of such symbols.
"Their fight is also on behalf of the nation's other symphony orchestras, which see their future likewise at stake should the DSO management model – demanding harsh cuts in salary, benefits, and working conditions, then refusing to negotiate – spread nationwide," she said.
DSO Principal Horn Karl Pituch, speaking for the musicians, said: "We wouldn't be surprised if part of the intent of that model would be to encourage a strike that would force a number of the musicians to retire or move on to other major orchestras, then replace them with less experienced players at lower salaries. That, of course, would be disastrous to an orchestra that has built up over decades its quality as an ensemble and its reputation for excellence. It would be definitely cynical to say that audiences won't be able to tell the difference."
Supporting the marchers will be political figures, national and international labor dignitaries, and musicians from across the United States and Canada. Expected to attend are: American Federation of Musicians President Ray Hair; Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5 President Gordon Stump; International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) Chair Bruce Ridge; ICSOM President Brian Rood; ICSOM Secretary Laura Ross; Regional Orchestra Players Association President Carla Lehmeier-Tatum.
Along with the thousands of marchers will be still more "marchers" who are unable to join but have signed on to participate in a virtual march to Orchestra Hall. Their letters will be printed and hand-delivered to the board of directors of the symphony.
Management's demands cut the musicians' base pay by 33 percent the first year of the three-year contract and call for significant concessions in pension, benefits and working conditions.
Because of the economic crisis and management's financial problems, the musicians placed on the table a proposal agreeing to $9 million in cuts in salary and benefits, including a 22 percent cut that same first year – the deepest cut taken by any of the other top ten orchestras. That would be on top of the $3.4 million in concessions the musicians had made in the previous two contracts.
The musicians' proposal was rejected.
"Implementing management's demands would drop the DSO from tenth to 19th in the rankings of American symphony orchestras," Pituch said. "This would make it difficult to attract internationally renowned guest conductors and artists to perform with the DSO and to attract top musicians to join the orchestra. The DSO would no longer remain the world-class orchestra its audiences have enjoyed and deserve. And that would be sad."
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