Link to sign up for the musicians of the DSO newsletter: (The link is difficult to find so I have posted it here.)
http://visitor.constantcontact...Nd5HA1yoXpovWQ%3D%3D



The musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are urgently requesting the assistance of all ICSOM musicians both for our orchestra and your orchestra. The Detroit Symphony is experiencing a vicious attack from our management, and we are convinced this attack represents, symbolically at least, a test case motivated by the more regressive elements within the League of American Orchestras (formerly ASOL, the American Symphony Orchestra League).
Our management is exploiting financial difficulties caused not only by the hard-hit Michigan economy, but also by conspicuous fiscal errors of their own doing, as a reason to propose degradations which include: salary cuts of nearly 30%, a termination of pension plans, a severe downgrading of health benefits, reducing a traditional 52-week season to 39 weeks, eliminating 14 musicians from required orchestra size, eliminating payment for all electronic media services, and adding a contractual service-conversion clause by which musicians can be required to perform even non-musical duties as part of their employment and the abolishment of tenure altogether.


Our current contract expires on August 29th. In negotiations thus far management has been completely unwilling to bargain or to adjust their position in any direction but downward. The future is most uncertain. One of our top managers has said, "The Detroit Symphony Orchestra as we have known it will be no more."
It is our sincere belief that, to the extent that the Detroit management is successful in attaining their objectives, the road to similar attempts by other orchestras' managements will be less obstructed and more smoothly paved.
Please help us and help your own orchestra by:

1) Signing up as many potentially concerned people (students, extended family members, friends sympathetic to musicians) as possible to our electronic newsletter. This listing absolutely will not be used for any purpose other than group emails in support of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and other member orchestras. If each and every ICSOM musician will add 5-10 names to our contact list, our cause will be tremendously more effective. The few minutes it takes is an investment in professional orchestral music in America.
To sign up anyone with their email address, go to our website:
http://detroitsymphonymusicians.org/

and scroll to the bottom left margin of the home page, and click on: Sign up for our eNews.

2) Friend us on Social Media, especially Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linkedin, and allow as many people to friend you as possible.

3) Direct as many people as possible to our webite.

A million thanks from the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra!

Cyberpoll: How important is the Detroit Symphony to you?

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/f...pic=DSO_money_crunch