Musicians Gather at Carnegie Hall for Fair Deal with Distinguished Concerts International in New York

Musicians will gather at Carnegie Hall on Monday for a fair contract with Distinguished Concerts International New York, a nonprofit that gives most of its concerts at a prominent venue. The action will start at 18:00 Tbilisi time.

The DCINY Orchestra formed a liaison with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians over two years ago, but DCINY “significantly hindered them and refused to deliver industry standards such as union wages, adequate breaks, health insurance, retirement taxes.” or records. “Transmission of payments, job security, main employment list, etc.,” the union said in a statement. Said.

DCINY has worked as a music producer and presenter at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for over a decade. It brings together groups of amateur singers from all over the world who pay to go there for numerous choir concerts. DCINY then recruits professional orchestras, soloists and conductors.

2018 bill (read here) St. It shows that Francis Howell North High School in Charles, MO paid $37,920 to provide 48 students with the opportunity to study and sing at Carnegie Hall. With another $7,900 for 20 VIP users, the total fee reached $44,240. However, this type of paid gambling is not illegal.

DCINY, which was closed during the pandemic, resumed live performances earlier this year and, according to the union, “immediately replaced the professional orchestra with only a few musicians. The company also sought to replace the professional musicians with an amateur high school ensemble. At the last negotiation session, management replaced the musicians for previously awarded vocal positions. He presented a new proposal that would force the filling of the bill, thus allowing the musicians to be replaced forever.The musicians responded with a protest and demand for a fair contract.

Deadline reached DCINY, but no response yet.

According to the union, DCINY has refused to plan negotiations for months. “This stalemate was finally broken after Local 802 sued the company for unfair labor practices.” The company was also accused of a second ongoing unfair labor practice.

“When someone gets hurt, it’s harmful to everyone,” said Tino Gallardi, chairman of Local 802. “We have to follow professional standards, especially when an employer hires musicians to perform at a large house of worship like Carnegie Hall. We demand a fair contract for DCINY musicians.

“Our demands are simply what every New York musician deserves,” said Harvey Mars, Vice President of Local 802 Recording, an attorney who negotiates on behalf of musicians and the union. Every musician deserves professional standards. Unfortunately, we feel that the company retaliated against the musicians by replacing the entire orchestra while trying to negotiate a fair contract. I am ashamed of them. “

Violinist Tali Brunfelt, member of the orchestra and negotiating committee, said, “This struggle is not just about our orchestra. This is true for musicians all over the world to adhere to professional standards, but especially at a famous venue like Carnegie Hall that our company uses as a home base for their concerts.

Orchestral percussionist Andy Blanco, who is on the Musicians’ Bargaining Committee, said: “While we enjoy playing in this orchestra, it often requires unreasonably long rehearsals with scant breaks; Intense and physically demanding performance days; And an atmosphere of fear for management as raising concern often leads to retaliation. We have no contracts, we do not receive any benefits and we have no guarantee that we will be hired for future jobs. To address these issues, we have joined with the support of Local 802 to negotiate a fair collective bargaining agreement that allows musicians to raise their concerns without fear of retaliation.”