#661 – Dick Bernard: Pearl Harbor Day and the wreckage of the Minnesota Orchestra Lockout

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UPDATE February 23, 2013: Still unsettled…. I sent this letter to the 28 members of the Minnesota Orchestra Association Executive Committee last week. here. Sometime today I’ll again watch the story of Pearl Harbor. [Here’s this years Pearl Harbor reflection]
I also have interest in current affairs, and the recent lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra is an important issue to me, as we are subscribers, locked out like the orchestra from, perhaps, this entire year of concerts. Thus the following post:
Today is the annual meeting of the Board of the Minnesota Orchestra (MO). I didn’t know that till a newspaper column in yesterdays Minneapolis Star Tribune. I had decided, some weeks ago, that December 7 would be an appropriate date to write about the very public catastrophe facing this world class orchestra whose home is downtown Minneapolis MN.
As I write, there are major issues between musicians and management at the Orchestra. The solution for the moment is to lock out the musicians and those of us who bought tickets to the concerts.
For those with little or no interest in or knowledge of the issue, some time ago the Orchestra Board made at least two major decisions: to embark on a major renovation of Orchestra Hall; and to lock-out the Musicians of the Orchestra in a contract dispute, thus almost guaranteeing that the season will ultimately be cancelled (half has already bit the dust.). We subscribers have thus been “locked out” as well.
The Japanese preemptive strike on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the lockout of Minnesota Orchestra musicians came quickly to mind for me when this conflict affected we ticket-holders. In both cases there was a ‘win’, albeit short-term, for Japan, and for the MO management, but in the long-term it is a rather pyrrhic victory.
(click on all photos to enlarge)

Orchestra Hall Minneapolis MN December 5, 2012


There have been numerous interesting commentaries not necessarily taking one side or another: In the New Yorker was this contribution; last Sunday in the STrib carried this column. There have been many more commentaries. This has become national news.
I happen to have a particular interest in this lockout, since for a lot of years we’ve been a subscriber for six concerts a year, and perhaps have attended two or three more each season. We sit in the fourth row, behind the maestro. Perhaps there are better seats in the house, but we’ve come to like being upfront, and over time you get to know the nature of your neighbors, and they, you. We seem to be fairly typical among our fellow concert-attendees.
All of we customers have become the victims of this conflict. The list of victims is expanding, daily.
I also spent an entire career in and around collective bargaining, so I know the trade, including the foolhardiness of inserting oneself in the middle of a dispute where the real ‘facts’ (issues) may not be visible. All I can say for certain is that at some point there will be a settlement, and the sooner the better that will be for both parties.
As in war, the more protracted and bitter the conflict, the greater the residual damage will be.
In such disputes there are always diverse points of view, strongly felt. In this one, there seems to be value in ranking several top priorities, which I present in alphabetical order below:
Concern for the customers (the people who actually attend the concerts, whether one or a thousand)
New Lobby construction
Power and Control: authority issues
Quality Musicians and others who work for MO
Savings Account (the endowment fund)
Rank these from one to five (most to least important) and you might have a personal idea of where you stand.
Of course, there can be more factors, but these give an idea. As for me, the November 26 Star Tribune printed a letter from myself on the issue, in which I said, in part: “… we buy tickets to hear the Minnesota Orchestra….”
As a result of this letter, I received a number of very interesting phone calls and e-mails, all positive, all expressing similar concerns.
November 24, I sent a U.S. mail stamped letter to all of the 81 listed members of the Minnesota Orchestra Board. It is here: MN Orchestra Nov 24 Ltr001 (There are actually 25 members on the Board, but the Orchestra website lists honorary, emeritus and other Directors as well. They are listed at the end of this post.)
I asked each for “individual acknowledgement of this letter.” So far, no acknowledgements of any kind have been received from any Board member. Perhaps it’s a little too early.
Meanwhile, the hurt goes on as the cement shoes worn by the respective sides seem to be hardening. Maybe there will be a breakthrough, maybe not.
I went by Orchestra Hall Wednesday to take some photos (above, and following at the Hilton across the street), and together the photos evoke for me a very sad situation for a great orchestra in our great community.
I ask good faith bargaining, all cards on the table, and an honorable settlement.
Since it appears that this is essentially a Business driven conflict, I offer a piece of advice to the people who will have to ultimately settle the matter from my good friend, former Governor and successful businessman, corporate owner and philanthropist Elmer L. Andersen, in his memoir “A Man’s Reach” (2000), edited by Lori Sturdevant. At pages 96-101 Mr. Andersen summarizes his four corporate priorities, as follows:
1. “Our highest priority…should be service to the customer.”
2. “The company should exist deliberately for the benefit of the people associated in it.”
3. “[Our] third priority was to make money.”
4. “Our philosophy did not leave out service to the larger community…The quality of life in a company’s hometown is important to that business’s welfare and future….”
Of course, Mr. Andersen was talking about internal priorities within his own company, but still, it is quite good advice, I’d say.

At the Hilton Hotel near Orchestra Hall December 5, 2012


The Dream...December 5, 2012


Directly related post: here.
The Minnesota Orchestra Musicians Union website is here.
The Minnesota Orchestra Board as of December 6, 2012:
* – denotes membership on Executive Committee
Officers
Jon R. Campbell*, Chair, Wells-Fargo Bank
Richard K. Davis*, Immediate Past Chair, U.S. Bancorp
Michael Henson*, President and CEO
Nancy E. Lindahl*, Secretary, Deephaven MN
Steven Kennedy*, Treasurer, Faegre Baker Daniels
Life Directors
Nicky B. Carpenter*, Wayzata MN
Kathy Cunningham*, Mendota Heights MN
Luella G. Goldberg*, Minneapolis
Douglas Leatherdale*, The St. Paul Companies
Ronald E. Lund*, Eden Prairie, MN
Betty Myers, St. Paul MN
Marilyn C. Nelson, Carlson, Minneapolis MN
Dale R. Olseth, SurModics, Eden Prairie MN
Rosalyn Pflaum, Wayzata MN
Directors Emeriti
Margaret D. Ankeny, Wayzata MN
Andrew Czajkowski, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, St. Paul
Dolly J. Fiterman, Minneapolis
Beverly Grossman, Minneapolis
Karen H. Hubbard, Lakeland, MN
Hella Meaars Hueg, St. Paul MN
Joan A. Mondale, Minneapolis MN
Susan Platou, Wayzata MN
Directors
Emily Backstrom, General Mills, Minneapolis
Karen Baker*, Orono MN
Michael D. Belzer, Crescendo Project Board, Minneapolis
David L. Boehnen, St. Paul MN
Patrick E. Bowe*, Cargill, Wayzata MN
Margaret A. Bracken, Minneapolis
Barbara E. Burwell, Wayzata MN
Mari Carlson, Mt. Oliver Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
Jan M. Conlin, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Minneapolis
Ken Cutler, Dorsey & Whitney, Edina
Jame Damian, Minneapolis
Jonathan F. Eisele*, Deloitte Service LP, Minneapolis
Jack W.. Eugster*, Excelsior MN
D. Cameron Findlay Medtronic, Minneapolis
Ben Fowke*, Xcel Energy, Minneapolis
Franck L. Gougeon, AGA Medical Corporation, Plymouth MN
Paul D. Grangaard, Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation, Minneapolis
Jane P. Gregorson*, Minneapolis
Susan Hagstrum, Minneapolis
Jayne C. Hilde*, Satellite Shelters, Minneapolis
Karen L. Himle, HMN Financial, Minneapolis
Shadra J. Hogan, Minnetonka MN
Mary L. Holmes, Wayzata MN
Jay V. Ihlenfeld, St. Paul MN
Philip Isaacson, Nonin Medical, Plymouth MN
Nancy L. Jamieson, WAMSO, Bloomington
Lloyd G. Kepple, Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, Minneapolis
Michal Klingensmith, Star Tribune Media, Minneapolis
Mary Ash Lazarus, Vestiges Inc, Minneapolis
Allen U. Lenzmeier, Best Buy, Minneapolis
Warren E. Mack, Fredrikson& Byron, Minneapolis MN
Harvey B. Mackay, Mackay Envelope Company, Minneapolis
James C. Melville*, Kaplan, Strangis and Kaplan, Minneapolis
Eric Mercer, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Minneapolis
Anne W. Miller, Edina MN
Hugh Miller, RTP, Winona MN
Anita M. Pampusch, Bush Foundation, St. Paul
Eric H. Paulson, Excelsior, MN
Teri E. Popp*, Wayzata MN
Chris Policinski, Land O’Lakes, St. Paul
Gregory J Pulles*, Minneapolis
Jady Ranheim, Young People’s Symphony Concert Assoc
Jon W. Salveson*, Piper Jaffray & Co, Minneapolis
Jo Ellen Saylor*, Edina
Sally Smith, Buffalo Wild Wings, Minneapolis
Gordon M. Sprenger*, Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Chanhassen
Sara Sternberger* WAMSO, Eagan MN
Mary S. Sumner, RBC Wealth Management, Minneapolis
Georgia Thompson, Minnetonka MN
Maxine Houghton Wallin, Edina
John Whaley, Norwest Equity Partners, Minneapolis
David S. Wichmann*, UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka
John Wilgers, Ernst & Young, Minneapolis
Theresa Wise, Delta Air Lines, Eagan MN
Paul R. Zeller, Imation, Oakdale
Honorary Directors
Chris Coleman, Mayor, St. Paul MN
Barbara A. Johnson, President, Minneapolis City Council
Eric W. Kaler, President, University of Minnesota
R.T. Rybak, Mayor, Minneapolis MN.

From 11th and Marquette, December 5, 2012


Downtown Minneapolis from 11th and Marquette December 5, 2012

#660 – Dick Bernard: Don Hill on organized teachers, and union organizing generally.

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There are benefits of being on too-many e-mail lists. Surprisingly often, into the inbox, will come a nugget, as happened today, when Kathy forwarded to me, something Howie had forwarded to her: a 30 minute radio conversation with former Minnesota Education Association President Donald C. Hill of Northfield.
You can listen to the entire conversation, with retired teacher and host David Bly, here. The show was apparently first aired September 16, 2011 in Northfield MN. No matter. It is as current as today.
Anyone involved with Minnesota Public Education would immediately know the name and the voice of Don Hill. Many in other states would know of him as well.
He came on the scene at a turbulent time in Minnesota public employee union development.
I began my staff career in 1972, at about the same point in time that the name “Don Hill” was increasingly being recognized as an up and coming MEA teacher leader.
Best as I recall he was MEA President for approximately ten years, leaving office by the mid-1980s.
Love him or hate him, Don Hill made a big difference – and a positive difference – for Minnesotans, and not only for public school teachers. People like him do not come along often, and when they appear they are larger than life. They’re not in the business of being ‘average and ordinary’.
Listen to Don’s story of his years in teaching and as President of Minnesota’s teacher union.
The current attack on teacher unions in particular is largely because they have maintained at least a semblance of solidarity with each other.
Unions are fun to attack; even union members who dislike unions – yes, there are some of those – have reason to greatly appreciate the advocacy in their behalf over their careers.
But for unions to remain effective, the members of those unions need to put shoulder to the wheel, first recognizing that what they have can not be taken for granted, and that a stable future for themselves and their colleagues depends on their working together for a common cause.
I’ve often written about Unions, primarily during the Wisconsin spectacle of 2011. My most recent piece, immediately before the 2012 election, can be found here. (JoAnn, mentioned in the post, won her seat in the legislature. She will serve with distinction, in nobody’s “pocket”, which is as it should be.)
Thanks, Don, and thanks to all who endeavor to represent their peers, particularly in union settings.

undated photo of Don Hill submitted by a reader.

Dick Bernard – Thoughts at Christmas Holiday Season 2012: Have a Great Day.

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PRE-NOTE: I encourage you to watch the video at the end of this post.
Thirty-five years ago, sometime in early December of 1977, I did my first homemade Christmas card for friends and family, a very simple card with illustration by my then 13 year old son, Tom, and a hand printed short phrase by Kahlil Gibran: “Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving. And He answered. You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
The twelve months preceding that card were memorable, though not necessarily in a positive sense, though there was much positive, too.
Certainly without intending, the hand-made card became a tradition, continuing to this day, the 36th in the series. The first 20 or so were sent exclusively by U.S. mail. This will be the first one which one must have access to the internet to see in complete form.
Each year since 1977 has had one thing in common: something would happen sometime during that year that stuck with me, and the annual card was born, never fancy, always just me. We all have our ‘ways’.
2012 was an event-filled year, but nothing rose to the surface until an idea struck, yesterday, with receipt of an unexpected photo from a friend, David (click to enlarge):

1973 in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia, Canada.


David, the guy in the blue shirt in the front row of the photograph, is a “coffee buddy” most every Friday. A month or so ago I had invited he and another coffee friend, Fred, to join a small discussion group whose members are retired educators, interested in public education.
David came to our gathering on Nov. 16, sat down at the table with the other five of us, and immediately noted Jerry, with an exclamation: “I think I know you!”
Indeed they did know each other, and David found the old photo. Jerry is the guy with the mountain man beard in the photo. They and the others were for a number of years in the 1960s and 1970s members of a twin cities group, primarily teachers, who did some mountaineering each summer at places like Bugaboo, Devils Tower, and on and on.
While I never mountaineered, the photo was nostalgic for me, nonetheless. While disconnected in fact, I was connected in spirit.
Such is how things seem to work in this universe of ours. Random things are not so random at all. I recall the 2011 film, “I Am, the Documentary“, which remains available for viewing. We saw it when it first came out, and highly recommend it. It gives lots of food for thought.
Yesterday went on, and in the afternoon Cathy, my spouse, put up the Christmas tree, with help from one of our daughter-in-laws.
That tree has been Cathy’s tradition for many years.
In the evening, after the project was completed, I went down and saw the tree, and there affixed to one of the branches was the 1977 Christmas card of mine, about the only “ornament” I can say I own.

1977 greeting card on Christmas tree Dec. 2012


The 2012 Christmas message was born, from random acts with no relation to each other. Such has happened before, and will again, doubtless.
Happy Holidays at this Christmas season.
The passage of time since that first card reminds me of the second card, in 1978, when I chose this poem by the famous poet, Unknown:
THE LOOM OF TIME
Man’s life is laid in the loom of time
To a pattern he does not see,
While the weavers work and the shuttles fly
Till the dawn of eternity
Some shuttles are filled with silver threads
And some with threads of gold,
While often but the darkest hues
Are all that they may hold.
But the weaver watches with skillful eye
Each shuttle fly to and fro,
And sees the pattern so deftly wrought
As the loom moves sure and slow.
God surely planned the pattern:
Each thread, the dark and fair,
Is chosen by His master skill
And placed in the web with care.
He only knows its beauty
And guides the shuttles which hold
The threads so unattractive,
As well as the threads of gold.
Not till each loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God reveal the pattern
And explain the reason why
The dark threads were as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern which he planned.
*
POSTNOTES:

Another view of Bugaboo in 1973. Note peak with a dot of snow in background. That is same peak as shown in above photo.


During the past twelve months I began making a point of taking some photos each month at an 1870-era one-room farm house at a small city park near our home. The ‘album’ now includes perhaps 44 photographs. You can view them here.
A few weeks ago came a remarkably uplifting piece of video, less than ten minutes in length, which I would invite you to enjoy in the spirit of the season. You can access it here. It is exactly as it is. Do check it out. The film is by Louie Schwartzberg. It is narrated, beautifully, by Brother David Steindl-Rast; the beautiful music by Gary Malkin.