Detroit, think outside the box!

Ok, I have spent the last two blogs questioning the wisdom of musicians going on strike.  Now I would like to be a bit more productive and offer some possible solutions.  I agree that orchestras around the country are looking to see the outcome of the Detroit strike, but not for the reasons you might think.  I am going to take an optimistic view and assume that they are watching what happens to see if Detroit can come up with any brilliant ideas that will help them solve their economic woes too.

First, let's stop the ongoing "negotiations" over salary with all symphony orchestras in the country.  I have never been able to figure out why all non-profits in the country haven't done what US federal government workers have worked out with their employer.  In other words, just tie all raises (federal gov. workers never take pay cuts) to the same cost of living index that the federal government uses for their employees.  If federal government workers deserve a 2% raise, then so does everyone else in the non-profit sector.  Hey, it might even have a side benefit of making everyone in the country pay more attention to the expanding federal payroll.  In order to accommodate regional economic disparities, just use a comparison to public school teacher's salaries in any local jurisdiction.  If a public school teacher in Michigan makes 20% less than teachers in Maryland, then adjust symphony salaries accordingly.

Second, look at operating budgets based on percentages.  The American Symphony Orchestra League has detailed charts and graphs that show averages of how much is spent on administrative staff, operating costs, personnel, advertising/marketing, etc.  They do this for orchestras in every economic niche so that orchestras could compare apples to apples.  For example, an orchestra that operates on a $1.5 million can compare their percentages to other orchestras in the same tier.  If an orchestra is way out of line in comparison to other similar orchestras then figure out who is at fault and fire them.

Now, stop thinking in cash only terms.  Here are some examples.  All musicians need reliable cars to do their job.  We tend towards Toyota and Honda because of the longevity and reliability of the vehicles.  What if, instead of going to GM and Chrysler and asking for cash they don't have, the Detroit Symphony instead asked them for a car for every musician?  This is a win/win.  What a great advertising opportunity for car manufactures. (I would photograph the Detroit musicians parking lot and paste it in every classical music related publication possible.)  GM and Chrysler could promote their products into a market that has abandoned them and Detroit musicians could ditch a car payment.  ($200-500/month)

Repeat this concept for everything from dry cleaning to cell phones.  Give Detroit symphony musicians special discount cards for participating merchants.  Businesses may be cash poor right now, but they might be willing to give a 15% discount to musicians.  Again, a win/win on both sides.  Struggling businesses gain a new customer base, customer loyalty and help their community while musicians cut their expenses.


As a final added incentive, the citizens of Detroit (and all of Michigan) need to really consider what is lost if the symphony cannot retain these extraordinary musicians.  It is not just the economic contributions that a symphony makes to a region.  Remember, most of these musicians are also probably working as private studio teachers, helping another generation reap the many benefits of classical music training.  Most of them are also married, so not only do you lose the musician, you lose the spouse's job and economic contribution to the city.  Now add their children into the mix, as well as relatives who visit for holidays, etc. and you can see the economic impact in ever widening circles.

Why not give it a try?  Detroit has everything to gain by keeping this workforce in Detroit.  This is your last chance.  If the cultural institutions go under, then Detroit might as well resign itself to becoming a ghost town of America's industrial past.

Detroit Symphony Strike, part 2

What about "Detroit's Economic Crisis" is difficult for musicians to understand?  I'm not clear as to why the Detroit Symphony musicians think that Detroit can continue to sustain a world class orchestra.  There is an excellent blog written on Sept. 1, 2010 by Austin McCoy called "Detroit: the forgotten center of crisis and hope."  In it Mr. Austin relates the following statistics.

Detroit has gone from being known as the “arsenal of democracy” to the poster child for government disinvestment, deindustrialization, and capital/white flight. All of these factors contributed to the city’s inability to adjust to broader economic restructuring.[iv] Detroit has lost almost half of its population between 1950 and 2002.[v] According to sociologist William Julius Wilson, the city shed 51 percent of its manufacturing jobs between 1967 and 1987.[vi] 


..less than 20 percent of the jobs are now located within three miles of the city center.”[vii] This explains why one notices that the central business district resembles a virtual ghost town after business hours.....Detroit has also closed almost half of its schools since 2005....

Now, couple this bleak data with the recent bailout of GM and Chrysler and I'm not sure how the Detroit Symphony musicians can justify or even imagine maintaining their $100,000/year plus salaries.  I'm sure the auto industry in Detroit has been a generous benefactor of the symphony in years past, but I can't imagine the public relations nightmare that would ensue if they continued this tradition after the recent federal bailout.  Explaining how they can give money away after a federal bailout would be cause for another tough round of testifying before a Senate committee in Washington.  

Let me be clear, musicians in world class orchestras should be paid a minimum of $100,000/year.  Becoming a professional musician is a long, arduous and very expensive process.  However, world class orchestras reside in world class cities, a title that Detroit can no longer lay a claim to holding.

Economic Reality Check for Musicians

The recent strike held by Detroit Symphony musicians brings a flood of thoughts to my mind.  I share these ideas constantly with my colleagues, but now I think it is time to go beyond the circle of friends who have been traditionally subjected to my "musings."

Before I begin, let me preface these thoughts with a notification that I am a professional musician in the Washington DC area.  I am a union member (but not by choice) and I am currently exhausted from a run-out concert that had me out until 1am last night and I am pumping myself up with caffeine in an effort to pull myself together for another performance tonight.  In short, I am in the trenches too and not delivering this sermon from some lofty podium or living some elite life that is untouched by the economic realities of life as a classical musician.

Ok, here it goes.....I have never been able to wrap my mind around the concept of musicians having a "strike."  To me it is the most self-destructive action any musician can ever undertake.  I was going to school in Baltimore while the Baltimore Symphony strike was occurring in 1989-1990 and to this day I believe that they have never fully recovered from the damage that was done to the orchestra during that strike.

Let's just start with "economics 101."

Let's say a musician in an orchestra is making $100,000/year from their orchestra salary.  If they go on strike for 6 months, they loose $50,000 worth of income.  (Note, I understand they get union subsidies during this strike, but that is the same as receiving an insurance payout.  Basically, you are just getting back what you have paid in over the years, so it is a break even proposition at best.)  If the strike is not advocating a raise, but just a maintenance of salary, it will take 10 years for an individual musician to recoup the income that was lost over 6 months, if indeed it is ever recovered.

Meanwhile, the strike has also cost the orchestra dearly in terms of public relations, fund raising opportunities, corporate support, not to mention the rancor and ill will that is generated behind the scenes between board members, the administration and even within the ranks of the musicians themselves.  In short, the strike just made it astronomically more difficult to achieve the very thing the musicians were demanding in the first place, namely long term economic security. 

I've also never understood the attitude from musicians that generates the statement "They" won't give us more money (or whatever is being negotiated).  Who is "they?"  Could they be talking about the board members who have volunteered and usually pay a fee for the privilege of trying to support an important community institution?  Remember that orchestras are not-for-profit endeavors.  In other words, when the workers are denied a raise, the "extra" money that is left over, does not go into the pockets of stockholders.  No one derives a benefit from not giving the musicians more money.  I cannot believe that any board member wants to have their name associated with economic or artistic failure of the organization they are supporting.  They are usually on the board because they are leaders in some segment of the for-profit world and understand the benefit of the institution to the community.  These are people who are unfamiliar with failure and do not like that word associated with their name and reputation.


I don't think the "they" is the administration either.  In the organizations that I work for, the administrative staff usually takes the first hit and suffers much earlier than the musicians.  They lose jobs, take pay cuts, etc. before the musicians are ever asked to sacrifice.   Since they are the first to go and the first to suffer, they have a vested interest in keeping the organization economically healthy.  That is not to say that there is not sometimes incompetency in administration, but hopefully the board is vigilant and will address that issue.  


I have much more to say on this subject and will continue to do so in the coming days, but since this is a blog and not a dissertation, I will stop here for now.  I welcome feedback and dialogue on this topic as long as it doesn't result in name calling and personal insults.  Let's keep it civil and useful.