KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — There is disharmony between the management and musicians of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra following a complaint filed by Local 228 of the American Federation of Musicians with the National Labor Relations Board over the scheduling of rehearsals.
After two years of talks, the two sides recently reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.
Union vice president and cellist Elizabeth Start claims that management then issued a change in how the orchestra will schedule rehearsals before concerts, prior to ratification of the deal by the union membership.
Start says the rehearsals for all but pop concerts and other special performances have always been held on four evenings during the week prior to weekend concert performances. She says that allows the musicians to hold down the daytime jobs they need, because their orchestra pay alone is not enough to maintain a household.
“The KSO pays the majority of musicians less than $6200 annually, with 25 percent paid less than $3500,” Start said. “While these figures may not sound like much and in fact are low for the amount of work involved, that income is an essential building block KSO musicians depend upon to cobble together a livelihood that allows them to support their families and to remain as leaders of the regional musical community.”
“Many have other full-time work or spend their afternoons teaching music to children. Their schedules make it impossible to accommodate this new rehearsal schedule. This change will also have a negative impact on artistic quality,” Start said.
She also claims that such changes must have been planned for months but were never brought to the bargaining table, and it undermines the entire agreement.
The union has been working without a contract since 2004 when their last deal expired. They have been negotiating ever since. KSO President and CEO Peter Gistelinck said KSO has a broad management prerogative to make such changes, as it’s spelled out in their contract.
Gistelinck said most professional orchestras hold a series of four rehearsal periods on the two days prior to a symphony performance in the afternoons and evenings prior to a weekend performance. He said it’s an industry standard.
He said it also becomes difficult to rehearse with guest conductors who are reluctant to spend an entire week rehearsing prior to a performance.
Gistelinck also claims the filing of this complaint to the National Labor Relations Board over the rehearsal schedule is an attempt by the union to reopen the contract after they have already reached a tentative agreement.
The NLRB will schedule hearings. The next performance of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is in September.
