Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:46 pm Post subject: Louisville Newspaper gets it wrong!
http://www.courier-journal.com...125/Musicians-pensio

AFM response:
http://www.lomusicians.org/?p=369

Posted on Aug 12, 2011 | 0 comments

Dear Ms. Kramer,

As you know, I contacted you by email and by phone today in an attempt to discuss the article concerning the Louisville Orchestra bankruptcy, which you authored and which appeared this morning in the Courier-Journal: http://www.courier-journal.com...s-orchestra-shutdown. In reviewing the content of your article, it is obvious that you either misread or misunderstood the objection filed with the Court by the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (“the Fund”) against the plan of bankruptcy reorganization now pending Court confirmation by Louisville Orchestra, Inc. The Fund stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Orchestra Committee and AFM Local 11-637 in its objection to a reorganization plan that is not feasible without a collective bargaining agreement with the Union. Nowhere in our objection to the plan, however, does the Fund suggest or imply a shutdown of the company, as you erroneously reported.
In the Fund’s objection to the debtor’s flawed plan, we say two primary things: (1) that, as proposed by the Louisville Orchestra Inc, (the “debtor”), the plan of reorganization doesn’t work, given that the Louisville Orchestra and Local 11-637 do not have a collective bargaining agreement, and the debtor has not demonstrated that it has any individual musicians under contract to play and that, therefore, the debtor will not be able to remain an ongoing enterprise (it won’t be able to sell subscriptions, tickets, get donations, etc.); and (2) that if the plan is confirmed over our objection (and the objections of the Orchestra Committee and Local 11-637), the Court (seeking to increase the Louisville Orchestra’s financial return to creditors) should transfer all potential causes of action owned or involved in by the debtors (i.e., any rights the debtor may have against third parties) to a “liquidating trust,” also known as a “litigating trust,” so that those claims can be pursued for the benefit of the Louisville Orchestra’s creditors, which include the Fund, the largest creditor in this case.

I want to make it perfectly clear that the Fund, in its objection, is not seeking a shutdown of the company. Rather, we are interested in seeing an acceptable and constructive working agreement (with Fund benefits) reached between the debtor and the Union that will preserve the longstanding tradition of excellence for which the Louisville Orchestra is known throughout the world. In short, what we are requesting of the Court in our objection is that if the objectionable plan is subsequently confirmed, as an alternative, we want the debtor’s relationship with its $7 million endowment fund, in effect, placed in a trust that could be reachable and liquidated for good cause if, after our investigation, some or all of those endowment funds could have been construed as unrestricted operating funds, and thus could have enlarged the debtor’s estate for the purpose of settling our $3 million claim, as well as the claims other creditors.

Again, the Fund’s plan objection does not in any way seek a shutdown the company, nor does it under any circumstances seek to convert the proceedings to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

In addition, please be advised that attorneys for the Fund are not authorized to act as press spokespersons at the present time. If you have further questions on the matters, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ray Hair, International President
American Federation of Musicians
of the US and Canada

The Louisville paper now has has corrected the story! You see the rewrite at the same link:
http://www.courier-journal.com...s-orchestra-shutdown