<\/p>\n
12\/29\/17<\/p>\n
I. SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY MANAGEMENT GROUP DEAL OFF
\nII. SAN ANTONIO STORY DEVELOPS
\nIII. COMMENT
\nIV. EVENTS<\/p>\n
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE COMMITTEE!!<\/p>\n
…Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer
\n‘
\n…The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’\u2028scoring musician
\n…Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal – L.A. Symphonic musician<\/p>\n
…Reporting issues the Musicians Union doesn’t dare to mention – National touring musician<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
================================<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. MANAGEMENT GROUP BACKS OUT OF DEAL TO
\nTAKE OVER SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FROM TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO<\/p>\n
A nonprofit organization created to run the San Antonio
\nSymphony announced Wednesday it will no longer take
\nover the troubled orchestra due to a potential multimillion
\ndollar pension obligation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Symphonic Music for San Antonio Chairman Bruce Bugg
\nJr. said the musicians\u2019 union \u2014 the American Federation of
\nMusicians \u2014 told him of an underfunded pension obligation
\nof more than $4 million. Now, the management group has
\ndecided to hand back responsibility to the Symphony Society
\nof San Antonio, which managed the symphony since its creation
\nin 1939.<\/p>\n
“We’ve contributed over $2 million since May of this year just to
\nkeep the symphonic season going,” Bugg said. “Those funds
\nwent to pay the salaries of musicians and other expenses.”<\/p>\n
Symphonic Music was created on July 19 with the intent of taking
\nover the symphony’s business operations Aug. 31. That is, until
\nan audit uncovered an unexpected cost, Bugg said.<\/p>\n
“How we got to where we find ourselves today is we had asked
\nfor the audited financial statements of the Symphony Society
\nof San Antonio for the period ending Aug. 31, 2016,” he said.<\/p>\n
“That audit showed zero mention of any [underfunded] pension
\nbalances.”…<\/p>\n
We made it clear from the beginning that we were not in the
\nposition at (Symphonic Music) to assume liabilities. We were
\nonly in a position to move forward.”<\/p>\n
Alice Viroslav, chairman of the Symphony Society of San Antonio,
\nconfirmed the shortfall, citing a dip in the stock market and
\npossible mismanagement of the pension.
\n“So everyone in the pension is underfunded,” she said. “The
\npension is a huge multi-employer plan. And the pension itself
\nhas lost over 40 percent in overall value in the stock market in
\n2008 and never fully recovered from that.<\/p>\n
“And there\u2019s actually an active lawsuit right now against the
\npension itself by some AFM musicians because exactly the
\nissues that we\u2019re talking about. So this has nothing to do with
\nanything that we did. This has to do with the overall management
\nof the pension fund.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,\u00a0Craig Sorgi,\u00a0a member of the San Antonio Symphony
\nand union chairman, sent a news release late Wednesday in
\nresponse to Bugg and Symphonic Music’s decision that it will no
\nlonger manage the symphony due to the pension obligation.<\/p>\n
“The board members of Symphonic Music for San Antonio are
\nattempting to excuse their abandonment of the San Antonio
\nSymphony by using the AFM pension plan as their scapegoat.
\nThis is a false excuse,” the statement read. “…\u00a0The SMSA board
\nmembers spent months proclaiming themselves the saviors of
\nthe San Antonio Symphony. Now, like spoiled children, they have
\ndecided to pick up their marbles and leave because they couldn’t
\nget their way on everything, including having to deal with a pesky
\nUnion that didn’t think reducing outstandingly skilled musicians’
\nalready-low pay scales was a very good idea.”<\/p>\n
———————————–<\/p>\n
COMMENTS RELATED TO THE ARTICLE ABOVE:<\/p>\n
Something stinks, and it ain’t in Denmark. 1st we have a thinly
\ndisguised attempt by the Tobin Center to get the symphony to
\ndo their bidding and get rid of the pesky conflicts that have been
\nplaguing them from the get-go, and now we have them dropping
\nthe deal like a hot rock, right after talks with the union fail. Since
\nthey’ve known about the “unfunded liability: for a month — during
\nthe negotiations, mind you — I question the real reason for their
\nsudden and unconscionable withdrawal from their obligations
\nwhich were self-imposed in the first place.<\/p>\n
I foresee a long and ugly lawsuit on the horizon. And sadly,
\na city without a symphony.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
————————–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WAIT a second…..!\u2028Why did Bruce Bugg and SMSA sit on this information for a
\nmonth? They learned of the so-called underfunded pension
\non November 21.<\/p>\n
Why is it news…One Month Later??<\/p>\n
————————–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I see one big problem in the above quotes from Bruce
\nBugg and Alice Viroslav:
\n“Unfunded” and “underfunded” are not the same thing.
\nIs this a deliberate slip of the tongue, or careless wording
\nby the chairman of SMSA?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
====================================<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
II. SAN ANTONIO STORY DEVELOPS
\nSymphony musicians hope for last-minute agreement
\nBy Steve Bennett
\nDecember 28, 2017 Updated: December 28, 2017 8:22pm<\/p>\n
With the San Antonio Symphony musicians\u2019 contract set to expire Sunday,
\nan orchestra representative said next week\u2019s Tricentennial celebration
\nconcerts are up in the air.<\/p>\n
While hanging onto hope that labor talks will continue, musicians on
\nThursday also blasted a nonprofit group that was expected to assume
\norchestra management for what they called \u201ca union-busting power play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, we plan to be at rehearsal on Jan. 3,\u201d said symphony
\nviolinist Craig Sorgi, negotiating chairman of the Musicians of the
\nSan Antonio Symphony. \u201cThere have been no cancellations, no work
\nstoppages, and there is still time on the clock to come to an agreement.
\nIt\u2019s not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Antonio supermarket chain H-E-B, the Tobin Endowment
\nand the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation set up the nonprofit
\nSymphonic Music for San Antonio and announced plans in
\nJuly to take over the symphony\u2019s assets and operations
\nfrom the 78-year-old symphony society by Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
The group announced Wednesday that it had pulled out of
\nthe deal, citing a $4 million liability related to the musicians\u2019
\npension fund, which it said was disclosed recently in a letter
\nfrom the American Federation of Musicians & Employers\u2019
\nPension Fund.<\/p>\n
San Antonio supermarket chain H-E-B, the Tobin Endowment
\nand the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation set up the nonprofit
\nSymphonic Music for San Antonio and announced plans in
\nJuly to take over the symphony\u2019s assets and operations from
\nthe 78-year-old symphony society by Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
The group announced Wednesday that it had pulled out of the
\ndeal, citing a $4 million liability related to the musicians\u2019 pension
\nfund, which it said was disclosed recently in a letter from the
\nAmerican Federation of Musicians & Employers\u2019 Pension Fund.<\/p>\n
Bruce Bugg, chairman of Symphonic Music for San Antonio,
\nacknowledged on Thursday that he made a mistake in citing the
\nnumber, which was a reference to the multiemployer pension\u2019s
\nnet unfunded vested benefits of $4.5 billion.<\/p>\n
The symphony musicians had pointed out the mistake in a
\nstatement released Thursday.
\n\u201cThe pension fund letter identifies a $4.5 billion number for the
\nfund’s total net unfunded vested benefits aggregated of all
\nparticipating employers nationwide and all participating
\nemployees nationwide,\u201d according to the statement.
\n\u201cThis is not a liability figure of the (Symphony Society
\nof San Antonio).\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Bugg insisted the symphony society was potentially
\nliable for $8.9 million, which the letter identifies as an
\n\u201cestimated withdrawal liability,\u201d and that it remains a
\ndeal-breaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see a path forward working with the symphony
\nsociety, given what has been exposed in this letter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Musicians countered that the figure was \u201cgrossly false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, there is no debt that the symphony society
\nowes the pension fund,\u201d said symphony bassoonist Brian
\nPetkovich, secretary-treasurer of the local musicians\u2019 union.
\n\u201cThe annual payment that the symphony society makes
\nto the fund is $120,000, which is such a small part of the
\nsymphony\u2019s budget (of $7.6 million). That shouldn\u2019t
\nkeep the orchestra from being onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice B. Viroslav, a San Antonio physician recently elected
\nboard chairwoman of the symphony society, also said the
\nsymphony is not in debt to the pension fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pension penalty is solely related to the shortfall of the
\noverall pension fund,\u201d she wrote in an email. \u201cThe symphony
\nwas and has always been current on all payments to the pension.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chicago arts consultant Drew McManus said the pension
\nfund liabilities did not mean that the symphony society
\nwas \u201cin arrears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithdrawal liabilities only kick in when you pull out of
\nthe fund,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A symphony society board meeting to discuss all these matters
\nis scheduled for Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, were in a wait-and-see mode right now for what
\nthe other side is going to do,\u201d Petkovich said.<\/p>\n
As far as next week\u2019s and upcoming concerts, he added,
\n\u201cWe\u2019re really up in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n
—————————————————-<\/p>\n
III. COMMENT
\ninteresting story & comments at
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scoringsessions\/ about
\nLocal 47 falsely accusing a company of doing
\na non-union session. Thoughts?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
—————————————————<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IV. EVENTS
\nDEAN AND RICHARD
\nare now at Culver City Elks the first \u2028Friday of \u2028every month.
\n7:30pm-10:30pm,
\n11160 Washington Pl.
\nCulver City, 90232
\n310-839-8891<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
——————————————-<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\n——————————————–<\/p>\n
UNTIL NEXT TIME,\u2028\u2028THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
12\/29\/17 I. SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY MANAGEMENT GROUP DEAL OFF II. SAN ANTONIO STORY DEVELOPS III. COMMENT IV. EVENTS HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE COMMITTEE!! …Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer ‘ …The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’\u2028scoring musician …Allows us to speak our minds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492","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=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}