In New York, union workers are preparing to picket the use of a new machine that threatens their jobs. In DC, a professional association on the other side of the table has just released an antitrust policy to help its members avoid indictment under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
No, it ‘s not about steel or coal or trucking. It’s about orchestras, the modern battleground for corporate/worker conflict.
The New York story features American Federation of Musicians Local 802, which is preparing to picket a new off-Broadway show (here’s a segment from NPR on the subject). The new show, opening tonight, uses the dreaded Sinfonia, a complex electronic music device that can follow along to a conductor’s tempo. Musicians argue it’s a cost-saving device that serves only to replace them (and it’s doing so in several touring musical pit orchestras). The composer of the show insists that the device is a musical instrument…and more specifically, the instrument he wants accompanying his production.
Meanwhile in an unrelated story in DC, the antitrust policy comes from the American Symphony Orchestra League (available in Adobe Acrobat format), which says in part:
The most sensitive areas of the antitrust laws are those related to
compensation and pricing. Thus, it is not appropriate to discuss in the League
environment, the amount you pay or plan to pay for salaries or guest artists, or what
you plan to charge for tickets or other things you sell. It is not necessarily illegal if you
do so, but because an ‘agreement’ is proved by circumstantial evidence, it is better
not to discuss these subjects.
The policy then goes on to assure its readers that antitrust violators aren’t just fat-cat, cigar-chomping capitalists:
Many people indicted for antitrust violations are ‘good citizens’ who participate in community activities and are the type of people you would like to know. Most often they believe they are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Choose your sides, folks. The fun is just beginning.
