At one of the most prestigious conservatories for student musicians, where the president lives in a two-story, rent-free penthouse above the school, faculty are currently working under an expired contract with no acceptable agreement in sight.
Tense negotiations around a fair deal with the administration of the Manhattan School of Music and President James Gandre have stalled, leaving the musician-teachers of ARTS-MSM feeling disrespected and unappreciated.
“We are a family, and to have your family essentially tell you that you are replaceable is an awful feeling,” said ARTS-MSM union President Adam Kent, who attended the school’s precollege program as a young child.
Now, the small local’s broader union family is stepping up to show support. As ARTS-MSM continues to call for fair wages and better working conditions, their voices are being amplified by NYSUT; PSC-CUNY; Local 802, the largest local of professional musicians; UCATS Local 3888; and the MSM Faculty Council.
PSC-CUNY released a statement saying “PSC members know firsthand the challenges of working under an expired contract while the cost of living in New York City continues to rise. We also know that non-competitive wages damage educational institutions’ ability to recruit and retain skilled instructors. Instead of hiring high-priced lawyers to fight the workers that make their programs possible, MSM management should show respect to the union and agree to financial terms that set instructors up for success.”
Local 802 released a statement saying it “supports these hard-working teachers as they fight MSM’s attempts to lock them into a five-year contract of continued sub-standard pay. We urge our members and the music-loving public to write to MSM President James Gandre at jgandre@msmnyc.edu to demand a prompt resolution to this dispute by offering industry-standard pay to the people who do so much for our profession.”
Additionally, the MSM Faculty Council released a statement saying it “hopes that the administration will agree to provide fair and just compensation and work conditions comparable to its peer institutions. We support the MSM Precollege Faculty in their negotiations for an equitable contract.”
On Jan. 18, ARTS-MSM members rallied outside MSM with Scabby the Rat. They were joined by representatives from NYSUT, Harvey Mars, recording vice-president of Local 802 AFM, and UCATS Local 3888 President Stephen Rechner and Vice-President Christopher Crowe.
Overwhelming support continues to pour in with students and parents advocating for the precollege faculty; a petition on change.org garnered more than 2,000 signatures; and prominent members of the music community at large are expressing their solidarity.
“We feel like it’s really a fight, not just for precollege faculty, but for musicians who live in New York and who are trying to put together their careers,” said Adrienne Kim, ARTS-MSM co-vice president.