The notorious muckraker Molly Ivins once observed that among the steps needed to combat a crisis in state government were the following: get the governor out from under his desk; place a foot firmly in the governor’s back; tell the governor, “Lead, you dumb sumbitch, it’s what we pay you for.” In the past year, orchestras across the U.S. have been confronting the changing nature of media as it … [Read more...]

In the last issue of Senza Sordino, Doug Fisher asked whether we should have national agreements covering electronic media. While he clearly meant the question to be rhetorical, I would like to suggest that the right answer might be “no.” Collective bargaining agreements set minimum rates of pay (and, in almost all industries but ours, maximum rates as well) in order that employers can neither … [Read more...]