Resolution No. 1Whereas, the ROPA Conferences are starting in July;
Whereas, the ROPA Executive Board approved to change the Fiscal Year (on August 11, 2006) to August 1 – June 30 for this year and July 1 - June 30 for subsequent years;
Whereas, with the Fiscal Year ending July 31, it is impossible to get the Financial Statements completed in a timely manner; therefore be it
Resolved, that the ROPA Bylaws Article X, Section 4(a) be amended to read as follows: Each Member Orchestra shall pay annual dues no later than December 31 of each Fiscal Year August 1 - July 31 July 1 – June 30.
Be it further resolved that Article X, Section 4(a) be amended as follows:
If the dues remain unpaid at the end fiscal year (July 31) by the beginning of the ROPA Conference, the Orchestra shall be expelled from membership and can only be reinstated upon payment of a $100.00 reinstatement fee, together with all back indebtedness. The Executive Board shall be empowered to grant an extension for payment and/or waive any penalties if, in its opinion, an extraordinary situation requires the same.
Resolution No. 2
Whereas, the AFM Convention voted to change the frequency of the Convention to every three years, instead of every two years;
Whereas, the term of office of the Delegate-at-Large to the AFM Convention is currently two years, which means a Delegate-at-Large elected just following a convention would have to be re-elected for a second term in order to actually go to the Convention; therefore, be it
Resolved, that ROPA Bylaws Article V, Section 2 be amended as follows:
Section 2. Time of Elections: There shall be an election of Officers on the final day of each General Conference of ROPA. The election in even numbered years shall be for President, Treasurer, Editor, and three Members-at-Large. The election in odd numbered years shall be for Vice-President, Secretary, and the three remaining Members-at-Large, and the Delegate-at-Large to the AFM Convention. The Delegate-at-Large to the AFM Convention shall be elected at the ROPA Conference directly following an AFM Convention. Be it further resolved that ROPA Bylaws Article V, Section 3 be amended as follows: Section 3. Term of Office: The term of each Office, except for Delegate-at-Large to the AFM Convention, shall be approximately two years.[:] The term of office for Delegate-at-Large shall be approximately three years. [I]It shall commence immediately following the adjournment of the Conference during which the regular election for that Office was held, or immediately following the election in the event it was not held at a ROPA Conference, and shall end with the next regular election for that Office. An Officer shall hold Office during the term for which he or she has been elected or until his or her successor has been duly installed. Resolution No. 3Atlanta Ballet Theatre
Whereas, The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra has been a member orchestra of the Regional Orchestra Players
Association for many years; and
Whereas, The Board and Management of the Atlanta Ballet have decided their only mission is to provide the public with dance, without the live performance of the music that was composed to accompany it; and
Whereas, Audience members are being severely cheated by paying full price for an arts experience, which should include a live music experience, and instead get the equivalent of a high priced cassette player; and
Whereas, The move to use pre-recorded music grossly degrades the Atlanta Ballet from major status to something much lower, certainly not what Atlanta, with its size and cultural liveliness and sophistication deserves; and
Whereas, The move to use pre-recorded music is grossly unfair to our brother and sister musician members of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Atlanta Ballet, in the strongest terms possible, to immediately hire the musicians of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and drop its plans to use pre-recorded music; and
Be It Further Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls the Atlanta Ballet to immediately begin to bargain in good faith with the Atlanta Federation of Musicians, Local 148-462 of the American Federation of Musicians.
Resolution No. 4Pasadena Pops Orchestra
Whereas, Solidarity with our fellow Union orchestral musicians is critical to all our livelihoods; and
Whereas, The Pops Orchestra is an orchestra of the highest caliber; and
Whereas, The Boards and Managements of the Pasadena Symphony and Pasadena Pops Orchestra have decided to merge their orchestras into the Pasadena Symphony; and
Whereas, The proposed merger will result in the unfair layoff of all of the Pasadena Pops Musicians; and
Whereas Union musicians should not allow orchestra managements to take unfair advantage of the underemployment in our field by offering new work to musicians in such a manner as to deprive another group of their right to the work historically due them; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Pasadena Symphony and/or any successor organization - in the strongest terms possible - to continue to hire the musicians of the Pasadena Pops Orchestra and to grant them tenure; and be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Pasadena Symphony and/or any successor organization to immediately begin to bargain in good faith with the Professional Musicians Local 47, of the American Federation of Musicians to use the Pasadena Pops Musicians for the work that will be produced as part of their “Pops” services; and be it
Resolved, That ROPA shall present a copy of this Resolution to the Pasadena Symphony Musicians and its Players’ Committee, and to the Executive Board of Professional Musicians Local 47, and urges those bodies to provide their unconditional support of the Pasadena Pops Musicians; and be it further
Resolved, That the ROPA leadership present this Resolution to the 2007 ICSOM Conference and urges the adoption of similar legislation in support of the Pasadena Pops Musicians. Resolution No. 5Whereas Kathleen Grimes has served as a ROPA Delegate for the Ann Arbor Symphony; and
Whereas Kathleen Grimes has served ROPA as a Member at Large for two years; and
Whereas Kathleen Grimes has served ROPA as Vice President since the 2006 ROPA Conference; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the 2007 ROPA Conference bestow upon Kathleen Grimes the title of Vice President Emerita with our heartfelt thanks for a job well done. Resolution No. 6Omaha Symphony Orchestra
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Orchestra has an 86-year tradition of being Omaha’s premiere performing arts organization; and
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra of the highest caliber, capable of performing in the same league as orchestras in major metropolitan areas; and
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Association’s vision for 2011/12, adopted in March 2007, is “to be the premier musical and cultural entertainment experience, performing to full audiences-the hottest ticket in town-touching each listener emotionally through the indescribable power of music”; and
Whereas, Money Magazine designated the City of Omaha as one of the Top Ten Best Big Cities for the year 2006; and
Whereas, The City of Omaha is the home of five Fortune 500 companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, ConAgra Foods, Union Pacific, Peter Kiewitt Sons, and Mutual of Omaha; and
Whereas, The City of Omaha is in the midst of $2 billion of downtown redevelopment, which included the $95 million state-of-the-art Holland Center for the Performing Arts, the site for the performances of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra; and
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Association has repeatedly been unwilling or unable to present a vision of growth as an organization during recent negotiations; and
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Association was unwilling to offer musicians any meaningful economic proposals during the last several contract negotiations; and
Whereas, The Omaha Symphony Association was unwilling to discuss the musicians’ proposed contract changes during negotiations in May; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Omaha Symphony Association to immediately begin to bargain in good faith with the Professional Musicians Local 70-558, of the American Federation of Musicians; and be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Omaha Symphony Association to increase its efforts to capitalize on the financial resources and generosity of the people and corporations of Omaha in order to create a thriving and financially sound musical organization; and be it
Resolved, That the ROPA Conference of 2007 of the American Federation of Musicians calls on the Omaha Symphony Association to acknowledge that the success of the Omaha Symphony lies in great part with the musicians of the symphony, and to reward musicians’ contributions with meaningful wage increases and improved working conditions.
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