Louisville Orchestra attempts to hire replacements
Dear friends and colleagues,
SPREAD THE WORD:
As we all know, the musicians of the Louisville Orchestra have been engaged
in a lengthy negotiation with their management. They have repeatedly been
threatened by their board with being replaced by other musicians. And now,
after a final ultimatum, the Louisville Orchestra, Inc. has begun recruiting
replacement musicians.
DO NOT ACCEPT WORK FROM THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA, INC.
Both the Louisville Orchestra, Inc. and the Kentucky Opera have been placed
on the American Federation of Musicians' (AFM) International Unfair List,
and accepting work from these two groups could generate fines and penalties.
But it is not just the Unfair List that should deter anyone from accepting
this work--the fact is that it would simply be wrong to do so.
Any musician accepting such work would not be serving the cause of art in
America, or serving their career and family. Musicians accepting work as
replacements would be taking food out of the mouths of fellow musicians, as
well as depriving them and their children of health insurance.
The members of ICSOM, ROPA, and OCSM comprise a great number of orchestral
musicians in North America, and we have thousands of students. Please
educate your students, and the leaders at your music schools, of the
importance of this effort. If the egregious and despicable actions of
Louisville Orchestra CEO Rob Birman, and Board Chair Chuck Maisch were to
succeed, then no orchestra in North America would be safe from such attacks.
Any musician accepting such work would be building a career on quick sand.
Please post this message in your studios, and please send it to your
students everywhere, as well as the colleagues in your orchestra who might
not be subscribed to the ICSOM, ROPA, or OCSM news lists. Post it backstage
at work. Post it on your Facebook pages. Spread the message everywhere that
the musicians of ICSOM, ROPA, and OCSM will always stand together
The symphonic musicians of North America perform as a united network of
friends. It is crucial that we stand together on this issue, not only for
the musicians of Louisville, but for the future of musicians everywhere.
In solidarity,
Bruce Ridge
ICSOM Chairman
