A RESPONSE TO MR. ESPINOSA\u2019S E-MAIL<\/p>\n
In response to yet another attack from the Local, this time from President
\nEspinosa’s January 25th official Local e-mail, we respectfully remind him
\nthat the following appears at the head of the section which contained the
\nletter from which he took such public umbrage:<\/p>\n
“The comments below represent only the views of the members
\nand not necessarily the views of the COMMITTEE”<\/p>\n
Those words are there in every one of our e-mails, and they are there for a
\nreason. We simply cannot understand how their meaning was so completely
\nmisconstrued or ignored.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A reader comment is just that: a comment from a reader, not the Committee.
\nUnlike Local 47, we do not exercise censorship regarding the publication of
\ncomments from readers, within the bounds of good taste. The freedom to
\nspeak out without fear of official or professional retaliation is central to
\nour pursuit of a freer, more accountable Local. Take a look at the
\nfollowing quotes from Mr. Espinosa’s attack and see if you agree with us
\nthat he has rather selectively and\/or deliberately confused the message with
\nthe messenger:<\/p>\n
“false statements have been published and circulated by the \u201cCommittee”…”
\n“those who choose to hide behind the moniker of the \u201cCommittee\u201d could tell
\nthe rest of us what \u201cwinning strategy\u201d they would have used…”
\n“Our guess is that the \u201cCommittee\u201d \u2013 whoever or whatever they are \u2013 has no
\nidea…”
\n“the only thing the \u201cCommittee\u201d can do is complain about matters they were
\nnot involved in…”
\n“false statements published by the \u201cCommittee\u201d…”
\n“The \u201cCommittee\u201d also falsely stated that the Desert Symphony threatened…”
\n“where the \u201cCommittee\u201d got this patently false information from, but our
\nbelief is that they simply made it up…”
\n“the fictional amount claimed by the \u201cCommittee\u201d…”
\n“we have to put up with not only false statements from the \u201cCommittee\u201d…”
\n“let the \u201cCommittee\u201d know that their false statements…”<\/p>\n
Additionally, he is becoming overly fond of characterizing our efforts as an
\nattempt “to divide us…” and “divide our Local.” Dissent may in some ways
\nbe divisive, seeking as it does to separate questionable official policies
\nand activities from the membership that is ill-served by them, but the
\nconstant chorus of “divide, divide, divide” is beginning to sound like
\nJohnny One-Note on the kazoo.<\/p>\n
We, the “COMMITTEE” understand that it is in the interest of the Local’s
\nleadership to silence our voice and do everything possible to discredit our
\nsincere efforts to improve representation of the rank-and-file. We are here
\nfor those that feel that our Local is not making a sincere, complete effort
\nto represent their interests. We maintain the right to a free exchange of
\ncomments for the consideration of all members. Mr. Espinosa is certainly
\nfree to respond to any reader comments that he wishes. Indeed, we would
\nhave been happy to deliver his response to exactly the same readership that
\nreceived the letter that he found objectionable.<\/p>\n
OUR forum is here for all.<\/p>\n
In that spirit, and in case you didn’t see Mr. Espinosa’s attack using the
\nLocal’s official e-mail system, here it is in its entirety.
\nBy the way, before the COMMITTEE, the Local never made the effort to have an email
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
—————-<\/p>\n
Setting the Record Straight
\nRecent Negotiations between Local 47 and the Desert Symphony <\/p>\n
Recently, false statements have been published and circulated by the
\n\u201cCommittee for a More Responsible 47\u201d regarding our recent negotiations with
\nDesert Symphony Orchestra management. I\u2019d like to briefly set the record
\nstraight. <\/p>\n
In my forthcoming President\u2019s Report published in the February Overture,
\nI\u2019ve written the following:
\nAfter more than a year of negotiations, we [Local 47 musicians] were faced
\nwith no wage increase for the fourth year in a row. Despite our best
\nefforts, management would not agree to even the smallest raise for our
\nmembers. So, after two orchestra meetings and an orchestra-wide vote, the
\nDesert Symphony musicians authorized a strike to begin Saturday, January 5th
\n\u2013 the night that Art Garfunkel was scheduled to appear with the Orchestra.
\nFortunately for us, the strike didn\u2019t last long as Desert Symphony
\nmanagement felt the pressure and finally offered steady wage increases over
\nthe next two years. <\/p>\n
The reported \u201clamentable gains\u201d won in the new contract were far greater
\nthan the wage\/benefit roll-backs that management proposed during our
\nnegotiations over the past year. Had the Desert Symphony musicians chosen
\nnot to strike, they would have had to ratify an agreement with not only no
\nwage increases, but also a reduction in the health & welfare contribution
\nschedule as well. In fact, Desert Symphony management maintained its \u201cno
\nwage increase\/benefit takeaway\u201d position right up to the eve of when we
\nwould commence our lawful picketing and strike related actions! <\/p>\n
To characterize what was achieved as \u201clamentable\u201d is not only false, but an
\ninsult to the Desert Symphony musicians who bravely voted to authorize a
\nstrike and to the Local 47 members on the Desert Symphony Orchestra
\nCommittee who supported the actions taken by the Local. In fact, the
\nOrchestra Committee has issued the following statement in support of the
\nstrike action:
\nThe Desert Symphony Orchestra Committee appreciates the efforts of Hal
\nEspinosa and Local 47 in resolving a difficult and delicate negotiation. We
\nhave received positive feedback from many of the musicians in the orchestra,
\nand are confident that our new 3 year contract will help lead the Symphony
\nto greater expansion and success.<\/p>\n
Stephanie O’Keefe
\nHarvey Newmark
\nPeter Nevin
\nRachel Berry
\nTheresa Treuenfels <\/p>\n
Perhaps those who choose to hide behind the moniker of the \u201cCommittee\u201d could
\ntell the rest of us what \u201cwinning strategy\u201d they would have used against an
\nemployer that stubbornly stuck to a no wage increase\/benefit roll-back
\nposition. Our guess is that the \u201cCommittee\u201d \u2013 whoever or whatever they are
\n\u2013 has no idea as to what it (or they) would have done any differently, and
\nthat the only thing the \u201cCommittee\u201d can do is complain about matters they
\nwere not involved in. It seems that their only goal is to try to divide
\nour Local. <\/p>\n
Moreover, and in preparation for our strike, John Acosta, Local 47 EMD
\nadministrator, did contact Art Garfunkel\u2019s management to inform them of a
\npossible strike action. However, and contrary to the false statements
\npublished by the \u201cCommittee,\u201d at no time did he tell Mr. Garfunkel not to
\nperform. Rather \u2013 and this is an action we take in all strike situations
\nwhere we can put pressure on management (anyone remember the \u201895 Pantages
\nnegotiations\/strike, where we contacted Theodore Bikel?) – the call was
\nsimply a professional courtesy to advise Mr. Garfunkel that Local 47 may be
\ninvolved in a labor dispute with the Desert Symphony. When negotiations
\nresumed and a deal was made, John once again called Mr. Garfunkel\u2019s
\nmanagement to inform them that the concert would not be picketed- again,
\nprofessional courtesy. <\/p>\n
The \u201cCommittee\u201d also falsely stated that the Desert Symphony threatened to
\nsue Local 47 for \u201c$10 million dollars.\u201d We don\u2019t know where the \u201cCommittee\u201d
\ngot this patently false information from, but our belief is that they simply
\nmade it up. The plain truth of the matter is that Local 47 never received
\nany official threat of litigation from the Desert Symphony – after all, they
\nhad no legal claim against the Local to begin with, much less one involving
\nthe fictional amount claimed by the \u201cCommittee.\u201d<\/p>\n
In closing, it\u2019s sad that at a time when organized labor, including Local
\n47, is under assault from so many directions, we have to put up with not
\nonly false statements from the \u201cCommittee,\u201d but ones that undermine and
\ndivide our Local. I hope that you, the membership of Local 47, will let the
\n\u201cCommittee\u201d know that their false statements and attempts to divide us are
\nsimply not acceptable. <\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Hal Espinosa<\/p>\n
————<\/p>\n
SEE YOU MONDAY NIGHT! LOCAL 47, 7PM!<\/p>\n
Until Next time,\u2026<\/p>\n
THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LCOAL 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A RESPONSE TO MR. ESPINOSA\u2019S E-MAIL In response to yet another attack from the Local, this time from President Espinosa’s January 25th official Local e-mail, we respectfully remind him that the following appears at the head of the section which contained the letter from which he took such public umbrage: “The comments below represent only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-committee-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}