Quarterly General Meeting/March 30, 2015

The quarterly meeting of the general membership of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on March 30, 2015 at 7:06PM.

13 members were present.

The minutes of the December 1,2014 quarterly meeting were approved as read. M/S was Nott/Gaudio

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • President Frankenfeld reported that the contract negotiations for the CSO were underway. The process has been cordial and looks positive.
  • Renovation of Music Hall is moving forward very quickly. So far no musicians have been involved in the process. The Symphony will be moving to the Taft Theater during renovations. They are hoping for continued good corporate sponsorship. Member Martin James asked if there was a possibility of adding additional performances since the Taft is a smaller venue. President Frankenfeld responded that there has been no mention of that being a possibility.

II. Pension Update

  • The Pension Fund is totally governed by IRS rules. Since the fund was put into the orange zone, indicating steps should be taken to improve the security of the fund, it is approaching the $2 billion level. It was $2.3 billion at its highest level.
  • The trajectory appears to be upward although there have been more people accessing their pension than predicted. This is perhaps fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. It is moving toward achieving ‘green zone’ status. It has to be in the green zone for two years before the current multiplier can be changed. The investment strategy is becoming more aggressive.
  • Some organizations are beginning to offer younger players various 401b options.
  • If you are already collecting your pension there is no need to be concerned. Payments will continue.

NEW BUSINESS:

I. New members

  • There have been a good number of new members in 2014. President Frankenfeld did extend a personal invitation for tonight’s meeting. Unfortunately, few were able to attend.

II. Recording Industry

  • The recording industry has dropped to 30% of work dues collected. Symphonies now account for 65%. The remaining is made up through tours, etc.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:42PM and was followed by dinner. Dinner included Irish stew, two vegetarian entrees, home made soda bread and hot cross buns as well as homemade fudge and brownies.

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Board Meeting/March 30, 2015

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on March 30, 2015 at 5:32PM.

All members were present.

The minutes of the March 16,2015 meeting were approved.

NEW MEMBERS:

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

REINSTATE:

DECEASED:

RESIGNED:

ERASED:

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • There are ongoing mail delivery issues in the building. Management is aware of the problem. Mail is not being picked up, sorted or delivered properly. Until the USPS resolves the problem all outgoing mail will be taken directly to the Dalton Street facility.
  • Tomorrow is the date Accent Music closes its books.
  • The MPTF has awarded Local 1 4700 for the senior citizen concerts. This money has strict usage requirement. President Frankenfeld is examining ways it can be used by our membership.
  • President Frankenfeld reported that he had spoken with Mark Schlacter at the Behringer-Crawford Museum regarding the Blue Wisp Band performance. It is scheduled for July 9 and will be an outdoor event. The difference of $512 to meet scale was addressed and Schlacter indicated there might be a potential sponsor. There is a bad weather plan established in the event of rain.

II. CSO

  • The IMA was settled in December and the ratification packet has arrived. President Frankenfeld scheduled several meetings for the CSO members to as questions and learn more about what it means for them. No one showed to any of the meetings. A vote was taken and is due to the Federation by Wednesday so it will be sent overnight. The responses will be tallied by a raw yes or no vote.
  • The CSO met its ArtsWave campaign goal.
  • President Frankenfeld has personally contacted all members who have joined in 2014 through this month to invite them to tonight’s membership meeting. It is unknown how many will be able to attend.
  • Music Hall renovation appears to be moving ahead. President Frankenfeld is concerned that there will not be any input requested from the musicians. Work will go forward but it is unknown what work will actually be done at this point.

NEW BUSINESS:

I. Special payments

  • An email was received alerting the office to special payments of uncollected funds due to a short list of members. President Frankenfeld has contacted as many as he could locate and will continue to see if he can contact the remaining names on the list.
  • President Frankenfeld suggested that we begin to look into direct deposit for paychecks issued by Promo. When he goes to the bank to close out the Accent Music account he will get additional information. Currently there are checks that are being typed and are outsized. The checks do not fit into ATMs if someone is trying to take advantage of depositing directly into the ATM without using the soon to be gone ATM envelopes.
  • The Federation has been asking if there are any orchestras in our jurisdiction that might be interested in organizing.
  • There will be one more bill for Barbara Jaccoma for the CSO negotiations. The charge will be for one day.
  • Dee Sparks, a violist from Baltimore, has been subbing with the CSO. She will be joining the Local in April.

 

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

See attached B 25013-25029

Next meeting was not scheduled. It will be scheduled within the next week.

Meeting adjourned at 6:47PM.

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Board Meeting/March 16, 2015

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on March 16, 2015 at 12:09PM.

All members were present.

The minutes of the February 23,2015 meeting were approved.

NEW MEMBERS:

Jeffrey Owen – trombone 3/10/15

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

None

REINSTATE:

None

DECEASED:

None

RESIGNED:

Ellen Shertzer – cello    3/19/15

ERASED:

None

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • President Frankenfeld brought receipts to show debit card use since November. He was unable to get them typed up for the Trustees to examine. It was suggested by two Trustees to simply print out the bank statement, which will show the information more clearly. It was agreed that the bank statement would be printed and shared at one meeting per month.
  • The Ballet Task Force had a meeting on March 4. They are trying to raise money to cover the use of live music. There was discussion about the relationship between the Ballet and the Symphony. It is possible that there will be the additional of one additional ballet week. This move would reduce freelance options one more time. All the more reason to raise funds so that the ballet could add another week of performances that could use freelancers.
  • The Blue Wisp Band has been asked to perform at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park. There is funding and the service would be about 2 hours but may run longer. Available funding would be under scale. The Board agreed to allow the performance under the 2013-14 scale if an additional $512 could be raised. Joe Gaudio will make inquiries with Real Estate contacts for possible monies.
  • The Jazz Hall of Fame met on March 12 and will present its first class of inductees soon. Cincinnatian and Walnut Hills High School graduate Fred Hersch will be honored.
  • The Department of Commerce survey has been completed and will be mailed.

 

II. CSO

  • Second trombone auditions were successful. Joseph Rodriquez won the position. There was not an alternate selected.
  • Auditions for the Associate and Assistant conductors have been held. Names should be announced soon after March 22.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for those working conditions agreed to so far in negotiations. Progress appears to be strong.
  • James Conlon has announced that next season will be his last with May Festival. A search committee will be put together.
  • The IMA was completed in December. The ratification packet has arrived and President Frankenfeld will be explaining it to the orchestra within the next two weeks. There will be a vote. There were no increases or gains. It is a 2-year agreement.

NEW BUSINESS:

NONE

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

 

See attached B 24991-25012

 

Next meeting scheduled for March 30 at 5:30PM followed by the Quarterly General Membership meeting at 7PM.

 

Meeting adjourned at 1:28PM.

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