(audio) “You know, when we’re on stage, we wear our tails, but you know, today, we’re out here in our shorts and our Baltimore Symphony Musicians shirts and as you can hear, there’s a lot of activity around me right now.”
That’s Brian Prechtl (PRECK-TUL), percussionist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and co-chair of the Baltimore Symphony Musicians Players’ Committee, Local 40-543 of the American Federation of Musicians. As we reported earlier this week, BSO management locked out their musicians on Monday, claiming they’re broke. The musicians point out that management is paying itself lavish salaries, but on the picket line Tuesday, Brian raised a bigger problem… (audio) “People don’t give you money because you need it, and you have to find money if you’re any arts organization. People give you money if you inspire them, and unfortunately the language management has been using doesn’t inspire anybody, to give money, to believe there’s a positive vison for how they’re going to move forward. The only vison they seem to have is to cut the organization down, and that’s a really punitive way to run an arts organization, and to run a business.” Tune in at 1pm this afternoon here on WPFW for this week’s edition of Your Rights at Work, to hear the rest of my interview with Brian, as well as all the latest local labor news. Also on today’s labor calendar… Daily picketing by the BSO musicians continues today at 7:30am, 11:30 am and 4pm in Baltimore; and Pride@Work celebrates its 25th anniversary tonight at 6 at the AFL-CIO. For all the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1943, striking African-American auto workers were attacked by members of the KKK, the National Workers League, and armed White workers at the Belle Isle amusement park in Detroit. During the two days of riots that followed, 34 people were killed, and more than 1,300 arrested. Today’s labor quote is by President Harry Truman, who vetoed the Taft-Hartley Labor Management Relations Act on this date in 1947. The veto was overridden three days later by a Republican-controlled Congress. Harry S. Truman, who said: “The bill is deliberately designed to weaken labor unions. When the sponsors of the bill claim that by weakening unions, they are giving rights back to individual workingmen, they ignore the basic reason why unions are important in our democracy. Unions exist so that laboring men can bargain with their employers on a basis of equality.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you’re thinking about hitting a theme park with your family this summer, visit unionplus.org/entertainment to get savings at America’s favorite theme parks.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Union City Radio is proud to be supported by UnionPlus, which has been working hard for union families since 1986.
Union City Radio is part of The Labor Radio/Podcast Network
Listen now...UC Radio airs weekdays at 7:15a on WPFW 89.3 FM; subscribe to the podcast here. |