After weeks of cancelled shows and a stalemate in negotiations, representatives from the Spokane Symphony and the Symphony musicians say they'll be headed back to the table to negotiate later this week. No date has been set at this time.
"We're hopeful that we can reach an agreement soon," Adam Wallstein, chair of the orchestra committee, wrote in an email to The Inlander. But the musicians' negotiations come with a caveat, he says. "With the recent concert cancellations, we've been out of work for a month now — so any agreement will need to reflect and incorporate those lost wages and services."
With the future of the organization in limbo, the Symphony musicians have planned another "benefit-relief fund" show this weekend. The concert, featuring works from Bach, Beethoven and Kevin McKee, is the second in recent weeks. According to a press release sent today, the concert on Nov. 17 at Shadle Park High School saw an estimated 200 people turned away at the door.
The concert this weekend will be held on Sat, Dec. 1, at 3 pm at Westminster Congregational United Church (411 S. Washington St). The concert is free, but donations of $10 are encouraged. All money will be used to provide the musicians with financial relief, and to cover cost of health insurance premiums.
Parties that are truly interested in settling their differences don´t negotiate in public --- there´s no point in doing so.
Mr. Wallstein should remember that the recent concert cancellations cited in the blog posting were caused by the musicians going on strike.
In the interest of reaching a resolution of the labor dispute this weekend, I am hopeful that he either misspoke or was misquoted. There´s a third possibility, which is that he is posturing in a public forum for the benefit of his membership. If that´s the case, he forgot to signal to the Symphony organization in a private message that he was doing so. Nov 29, 2012 | Reply to this comment