Allegro
Pre-college music faculty need a meaningful raise NOW!
Guest Commentary
Volume 125, No. 1January, 2025
This is a guest commentary provided by the ARTS-MSM union
After working all semester without a contract, the faculty of Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division entered the winter break facing an administration that remains stubbornly opposed to the basic reality that a new contract must guarantee faculty wages comparable to those at peer institutions. Working on the terms of an expired contract negotiated seven years ago, MSM teachers are fed up with the administration’s leisurely approach to bargaining, which was reflected in a recent email to faculty from President James Gandre who called yearlong negotiations “normal” and focused instead on MSM’s endowment. Publicly available tax filings make it clear that the Precollege program is in excellent financial health and is the school’s most “profitable” division. While the MSM administration seems content to expend exorbitant legal fees on drawn-out negotiations, the hard-working musicians who make up the faculty at MSM Precollege — many of whom are also 802 members — urgently need an immediate wage increase.
Faculty wages at Manhattan School of Music are now as much as 50 percent lower than those at comparable institutions, creating a crisis that goes beyond teacher pay. This wage gap is causing faculty to leave MSM Precollege — some have already quit, others have announced plans to leave, and many more are considering it. Many long-serving teachers have cut back their hours, noting they can earn more from a few hours of private lessons than a full day of teaching at MSM. Teachers feel undervalued by an administration whose priorities seem to lie elsewhere. This exodus of experienced faculty threatens both the quality of current students’ education and the school’s long-term stability.
Elizabeth Gartman (photo: Micah Gleason)
Among the departing faculty is Elizabeth Gartman, who recently announced she will not return to teach at MSM Precollege for the spring 2025 semester. As is the case with many MSM Precollege faculty, Gartman has a meaningful connection to the school as an alumna; she is a well-known and much-beloved presence on campus with students, parents, and fellow faculty members. Beyond her position at MSM, she is also an accomplished composer and vocalist, bringing her experience as an active creative musician into her work as an educator.
In making the decision to not return to her position next semester, she cited the administration’s “unwillingness to pay its employees fairly” and voiced deep frustration with its handling of the collective bargaining process with ARTS-MSM, the MSM Precollege faculty union, which is a local of New York State United Teachers.
“We receive rebuttal after rebuttal on why MSM cannot pay its employees comparable rates to industry standards put forth by similar institutions. Meanwhile, the pay rate for administrators has gone up, along with student tuition. The rhetoric put forth by MSM’s lawyer made me feel replaceable. I think — and know — that fellow faculty will be leaving MSM Precollege, should nothing change. The faculty at this institution deserve to be compensated fairly, and respected in their fight.”
Frustration with the administration’s recalcitrance is spreading throughout the MSM community and the musical community at large. On a recent episode of WFMU’s radio show “Why Do We Only Listen to Dead People?” (listen here and scroll to timestamp 1:12:30), the hosts devoted a significant portion of the program to criticizing the MSM administration’s ongoing refusal to agree to a fair contract with Precollege faculty, while the program’s dedicated classical music fans submitted numerous supportive comments. Listeners expressed disbelief and outrage that one of the top training institutions for musicians is concerned with the careers of their students only while they are paying tuition but show no responsibility toward how they will sustain their lives as musicians afterward. MSM is sending the message that the real path to financial stability in arts education lies in becoming an administrator. Moreover, in recent virtual town hall meetings, faculty members have expressed their exasperation with how out of touch MSM administration continues to be, as more and more students’ parents ask how they can help support the cause.
The MSM administration seems to have no difficulty recognizing the need to pay competitive rates to hire and retain qualified administrative staff, yet they remain inexplicably reluctant to apply the same logic to the teachers who form the backbone of the institution. Since 2016, administrative pay at MSM has increased by 76 percent while real faculty pay has decreased by 4 percent.
After working for half the school year without a contract, teachers have reached their limit. With the support of parents, students, and the broader musical community, we are demanding a fair contract now! How many teachers will have to quit, how many students’ musical education will be disrupted, and how far will the reputation of MSM Precollege have to fall before the administration accepts the faculty’s clear, common-sense proposals? For the sake of basic fairness and the long-term viability of the Precollege program, the administration must act responsibly and agree to a fair contract now.
Thank you for your support!
In solidarity,
ARTS-MSM
Adam Kent, President
David Friend, Interim Co-Vice President
Adrienne Kim, Interim Co-Vice President
Elena Belli, Treasurer
Karen Rostron, Secretary
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Pre-college music faculty at the Manhattan School of Music are still fighting for a fair contract
Pre-college music faculty at the Manhattan School of Music are fighting for a fair contract