NYCB labor negotiations

Haglund totally supports the NYCB dancers if they wish to strike.  According to the 2008 Form 990, which was not filed until May 2010, Peter Martins made $723,000.  (Wonder what he receives now.)  The Balanchine Trust and the Robbins Trust were paid royalties of $315K and $367K respectively.  In such a bad year, Martins and the two trusts should agree to $1 per year.  Those savings would go a long way toward compensating the dancers fairly.  Then Ms. Brown, the new Executive Director, has a whole year to put a new spiffy fundraising plan and audience building plan in place while her own compensation should be based wholly on performance.  (Yeah, baby, pay-for-performance is the name of the game. For every butt you get in a seat and every donation you nail down, you get compensated. Otherwise, $nothing.)  Something tells Haglund that Ms. Brown has no doable plans at all.  And excuse me, but $278k for the pianist, Cameron Grant?  Ah, come on.

You'd think with people like the savvy and oh-so-smart Maria Bartiromo and Howard Solomon on the Board, the company's management could do better.

Take 'em down, dancers.  Take 'em down.

 

Comments

[K]

Martin's salary is utterly ridiculous especially in comparison to Kevin McKenzie's (who I think makes around 250k/yr). You would think after the layoffs 2 yrs ago he would have taken a salary cut to save face.

Though it's easy to look at NYCB and say "they have it good" compared to most other companies in the US, the conditions on a whole need to be improved. When NYCB dancers make strides, other dancers are able to make strides as well. The issues on the table are really important. Cutting overtime pay? Ridiculous.

[Haglund]

Totally agree. One of the big problems is that NYCB Management uses a puffy law firm that delights in busting unions. They are the reason that NYC suffered through a ridiculous transit strike a few years ago that cost the city and the residents so much. They mis-advise managements to dig in their heels and then everyone loses, except for the lawyers, of course, who get paid no matter what.

You're right, though, the issues are very important. These dancers are the ones who have the public support, not the management that pays Peter Martins $723,000.

[J]

And please don't forget that the Koch brothers (major donors to both ABT and NYCB) were major funders for the union-busting Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere. I suppose we'll never know how much pressure NYCB is getting privately from the Koch's to try to bust that union and set a precedent for other artistic groups.

[Haglund]

Thanks much for the comment "J". I had forgotten about the brothers. This could get really ugly. If a prolonged strike took place, many of the top dancers could easily move to other companies, and be happy about it, and it would take years to replenish that talent. Imagine all the bad will among the donors if those great artists just walked off into the sunset. But then imagine how great it would be to see Bouder in a real Don Q or R. Fairchild in a real Giselle or kicking up his heels on Broadway. The sunset doesn't look all that bad.

[jose]

Ashley B. in Don Q and La Fille Mal.... That would be something to see.

[Haglund]

Ditto for Tiler Peck.

I really don't think that the dancers are asking for enough. That 3% should have been 5%.

[J]

You cite Maria Bartiromo as a savy businesswoman on the NYCB Board. Please remember her shock during the health care debate in learning that Medicare is only for people over 65. Here's a link to the clip of that interview with Congressman Anthony Weiner: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/01/bartiromo-weiner-medicare/

[Haglund]

LOL. Thanks for the clip. My references to Maria Bartiromo and Howard Solomon were made with a wink.