{"id":5344,"date":"2010-09-23T17:59:38","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T00:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=5344"},"modified":"2013-02-07T20:28:31","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T04:28:31","slug":"its-11-p-m-in-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/23\/its-11-p-m-in-detroit\/","title":{"rendered":"it’s 11 p.m. in detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: Looks like the clock has ticked to 11:59 p.m. tonight.\u00a0 Read the latest here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Remember the Doomsday Clock<\/a>?\u00a0 It was established by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists<\/em><\/a> at the University of Chicago in 1947.\u00a0 It reflects the proximity of the world to nuclear annihilation – midnight – by the use of an analog clock, with the minute hand moving forward or backward in response to international nuclear tensions.\u00a0 The clock has hovered between 11:43 p.m. and 11:58 p.m. since its inception.<\/p>\n

As I was reading the Detroit Free Press article<\/a> today about last-ditch negotiations between the musicians and management of the Detroit Symphony, the phrase “eleventh hour” popped into my head, followed by the image of the Doomsday Clock.\u00a0 There has been little news out of Detroit for most of the month of September, following a massive PR push by the musicians at the end of August into the beginning of September.\u00a0 I would reckon that the Detroit Doomsday Clock is hovering right now around 11:45, and that it will approach closest to midnight as the first concert of the season (on October 8th) comes nigh.<\/p>\n

This situation is so senseless that it makes me want to scream.\u00a0 The slash-and-burn proposals of the DSO management really leave the musicians with little place to go other than a work action, especially since they are clearly cognizant of the need for emergency action on their part.\u00a0 Why else would they have proposed massive short-term salary and benefit cuts?\u00a0 Even with the raises at the end of the contract, they would end up with a net 8% pay cut.\u00a0 These are major concessions, but because of their insistence that some of the concessions be reinstated after three years, management refused their offer, and is now proposing not only to abolish the right of tenure and the imposition of a host of new job responsibilities (which are currently voluntary and subject to additional payments to musicians) at the same time as a 29% pay cut.\u00a0 Clearly, the management of the DSO has been slow to recognize or admit its poor handling of nearly every aspect of running the DSO, and now that they are in a serious bind, it is the musicians who must pay.<\/p>\n

What is saddest of all in this situation is that if there is either a lockout or strike, the institution will suffer grievous injury, especially in terms of its ability to fund raise.\u00a0 Members of the DSO are some of the most highly accomplished musicians in the country and the world, and they will start looking for more secure and financially rewarding places to work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: Looks like the clock has ticked to 11:59 p.m. tonight.\u00a0 Read the latest here. Remember the Doomsday Clock?\u00a0 It was established by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago in 1947.\u00a0 It reflects the proximity of the world to nuclear annihilation – midnight – by the use of an analog […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1783,186,2],"tags":[2361,177],"class_list":["post-5344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administration-the-orchestra-world-music","category-labor-issues","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-detroit-symphony","tag-negotiations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-1oc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5354,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/25\/clock-strikes-midnight-detroit-calls-strike\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":0},"title":"clock strikes midnight: detroit calls strike","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to the management of the Detroit Symphony imposing their \"last, best offer\", the musicians have called a strike, set to begin on October 4th at 10:00 a.m.\u00a0 Here's the press release from the players: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DSO MUSICIANS TO GO ON STRIKE OCT. 4 DETROIT, Sept. 26\u2014\u201cThe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "labor issues"","block_context":{"text":"labor issues","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/labor-issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5820,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/02\/19\/dso-musicians-reject-contract-season-suspended\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":1},"title":"dso musicians reject contract, season ‘suspended’","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, here we are. The game of brinksmanship at the Detroit Symphony has been carried to its (il)logical conclusion - the musicians are still on strike, and management has 'suspended' (n\u00e9e canceled) the remainder of the current season. Is this what both sides of this contract warfare were hoping for?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "labor issues"","block_context":{"text":"labor issues","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/labor-issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5840,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/02\/21\/whisky-tango-foxtrot\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":2},"title":"whisky tango foxtrot??!!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Or, as they say on the internets, WTF??!! The Detroit Symphony regime, er, management, has taken a Qadaffi-esque approach to the musicians' strike with a spray of gunfire, er, announcement that if the musicians don't settle for more concessions than were proposed in their last, best offer, then the orchestra\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "labor issues"","block_context":{"text":"labor issues","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/labor-issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Gaddafi1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6117,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/04\/05\/detroit-after-the-dust-settles\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":3},"title":"detroit after the dust settles","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I was thinking about the Detroit Symphony strike today, as I was going about my business, and a few thoughts came to me. My first thought is what are all of the stakeholders at the DSO feeling right now? Surely, they are all relieved that the orchestra did not go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "administration"","block_context":{"text":"administration","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/administration-the-orchestra-world-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3910,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/01\/28\/seattle-symphony-musicians-reach-tentative-agreement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":4},"title":"seattle symphony, musicians, reach tentative agreement","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It appears that a long stretch of tense contract negotiations have come to a close without a work stoppage in Seattle. \u00a0The Seattle Symphony and Opera players and management reached a tentative agreement Wednesday after several nearly around the clock negotiating sessions. \u00a0The players have agreed to each pony up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "labor issues"","block_context":{"text":"labor issues","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/labor-issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5127,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/29\/severe-cuts-proposed-in-detroit\/","url_meta":{"origin":5344,"position":5},"title":"severe cuts proposed in detroit","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This came over the PRNewswire today (thanks to Elaine for bringing it to my attention): Detroit Symphony Musicians Targeted for Deep Slashes; Will Other Symphony Orchestra Musicians Also Be Under Gun? DETROIT, July 29 \/PRNewswire\/ -- Salary cuts upwards of 28 percent, drastic cuts in their health insurance, elimination of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "administration"","block_context":{"text":"administration","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/administration-the-orchestra-world-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}