In a move that the musicians union called “outrageous” and “blatantly illegal,” the Kennedy Center on Friday said that paychecks for members of the National Symphony Orchestra will stop this week.
That was the same day that President Trump signed into law a stimulus package that specifically appropriated $25 million dollars to the Kennedy Center to be used for operating expenses, including employee pay. Ed Malaga, president of the DC Musician’s Union, said the union has filed a grievance, pointing out that the union’s contract “specifically requires that the Center provide six weeks’ notice before it can stop paying musicians for economic reasons.” Cellist Steven Honigberg, a member of the orchestra since 1984, said on Facebook, “Thanks (NOT)” to Center president Deborah Rutter “for your compassion for the musicians of your National Symphony Orchestra in this time of unprecedented peril. This is not OUR fault.” In today’s labor history, on this date in 1883, cowboys earning $40 per month began what would become an unsuccessful two-and-a-half month strike for higher wages at five ranches in the Texas Panhandle. Today’s labor quote is by Cesar Chavez, born on this date in 1927 in Yuma, Arizona . Cesar Chavez, who said: “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus, which stands up for union members and their families. At unionplus.org you’ll find useful links to coronavirus resources from the AFL-CIO, as well as Union Plus Hardship Help Benefits. Check it out at unionplus.org
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