A MESSAGE FROM COUNTERPOINT

The editors of Counterpoint requested that the following letter, addressed to President Bill Moriarity, also appear in Allegro because it touches on issues of concern to our entire membership.

It is clear that we share many goals and aspirations for the health and welfare of Local 802. We wholeheartedly share your opinion, stated in Allegro, that “the processes necessary to democratic unionism demand a full and free rank-and-file discussion of the issues. Unless they know that their voice will be heard, workers will not participate in the debate.” To that end, we will continue to be active in our union and hope that you will welcome our participation.

In the past there have been several highly effective Presidential Task Forces drawn from the rank and file; the Steady Engagement Task Force, Legal Task Force and Healthcare Task Force come to mind. We would like to see a similar task force work with the Executive Board subcommittee to spearhead the live music campaign. The Legal Task Force had multiple reps from each Lincoln Center orchestra and virtually every standing committee at Local 802. While these committees were large, such a task force could form additional subcommittees to tackle specific assignments.

If patterned after the Legal Task Force, a Live Music Task Force with members from each of the Lincoln Center orchestras and multiple representatives from each of the standing committees, working together with the Executive Board subcommittee, would assure a campaign that was comprehensively thought out, with all areas participating and well represented.

For our part, we will be devoting a significant portion of our next issue of Counterpoint to spotlighting the campaign and to encouraging all members to be thinking about their concerns and talking to their representatives.

In what will surely be a long-term and expensive project, we should make the utmost effort to ensure success. We stand ready to do what we can to help, and hope that together we may achieve more than would be possible otherwise.

— Counterpoint Editorial Board:
Martin Agee, Nancy Billman, Marc Goldberg,
Evan Johnson, Jennifer Newell, Laura Oatts,
Larry Rawdon, Clay Ruede

President Moriarity Responds:

As the writers correctly state, a subcommittee of the Local 802 Executive Board, consisting of Maura Giannini, Jack Gale, Bobby Shankin, Marilyn Reynolds and Jimmy Owens, has been appointed to oversee the live music campaign. The subcommittee’s mandate is to supervise the creation of a strategic plan for this effort, and to make recommendations to the Executive Board on key tactical decisions involved in implementing it. It is my understanding that rank-and-file involvement has already been the subject of subcommittee discussion, and that members in a wide range of musical fields will be consulted and involved.

One important component of the campaign, of course, will be public relations. We are fortunate in having an experienced public relations director, Heather Beaudoin, as part of our staff. My office will soon make a recommendation to the subcommittee that a public relations advisor be engaged specifically for this campaign, to work in cooperation with Heather. To that end, we have recently interviewed several well known, highly respected firms.

I think it important that all elements of this activity be of the highest professional caliber, and that the decision-making authority be put in the hands of a reasonably small group of officers able to make quick decisions.