Posted by Jay Bertolet on October 21, 2000 at 10:02:12:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Florida Philharmonic Orchestra Strike posted by Joe Baker on October 21, 2000 at 09:16:59:
I appreciate and respect your desire for the facts. I've come to expect nothing less from you based on your posts on the Tube-Net. But believe me when I tell you that the problems run so deep and are so complex that it would take an intimate knowledge of both our contract and our working environment to truly appreciate the level of problems we face here. Perhaps when I have more time to explain fully, I'll try to go into more of the details. I sincerely hope you understand that this is not intended as an evasive answer but that right at this second, I simply do not have the time to go into all of the problems. I am right now about to shut down my computer and go to another orchestra meeting.
Obviously, the term "slavery" was used on our website as a figure of speech. We are not slaves. We are simply musicians who want to work and be paid a fair wage for our work. We want to be treated fairly. And we are all reasonable people, not indoctrinated unionists who blindly follow a cause. In short, we are very much like many of you. Considering the reaction we've had to this situation, I think it is reasonable to assume that any other group of reasonable people would have reacted similarly. If you doubt what I'm saying, please feel free to contact any of the former members of our group who are currently playing in orchestras like Chicago, Cleveland, National, etc. I'm sure they could frame the comparison of the situations better than anybody.