AUPE President Dan MacLennan, in red jacket above, presents a cheque for $5,000 to Edmonton Musicians Association Secretary Manager Bill Dimmer, with trumpet, on the EMA picket line at the Winspear Centre in downtown Edmonton Feb. 21. Fifty-six Edmonton Symphony Orchestra musicians have been on strike since Feb. 15. AUPE made the donation as a gesture of solidarity with the striking musicians, who, MacLennan said, "go to work in white tie and tails, but face the same workplace issues as other working people." Below, AUPE members from the Westview Health center in Stony Plain with MacLennan and Dimmer show their support for the musicians. More photos...

EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has backed the 56 striking musicians of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra to the tune of $5,000.

"As the largest union in the province, AUPE takes seriously its obligation to help smaller unions who find themselves facing difficulties with unreasonable employers," AUPE President Dan MacLennan said today.

MacLennan will hand the cheque to Edmonton Musicians Association Secretary-Manager Bill Dimmer at noon Thursday on the EMA picket line in front of the Winspear Centre at 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton.

"Professional musicians often go to work in white tie and tails, but we know that the face exactly the same workplace issues as other working people," MacLennan said.

"That’s why AUPE is determined to back this group of working people in the same community as our union headquarters in their struggle for a fair contract," he said.

Dimmer, an ESO trumpeter, described AUPE’s contribution as "a lifesaver" for the striking musicians.

"These musicians have very few other resources in the community and they are making a big sacrifice to make this important point," Dimmer said. "This co-operation between groups of working people is both inspiring and enlightening.

"It’s enlightening because it shows us that many people in Alberta know the importance of cultural work, and it shows our members that unionized working people are prepared to stick together," Dimmer said.

The key issue in the strike by the musicians, whose association is also Local 390 of the American Federation of Musicians, is the wage rollback the orchestra has demanded in the face of losses resulting from management decisions the musicians opposed.

"The orchestra’s administration has acted in ways that created deficits – contrary to the advice of the musicians," Dimmer explained. "Then we are expected to take rollbacks to pay for their mistakes.

"We are not prepared to do that without some input into the decisions that affect the orchestra’s success," he stated.

According to media reports, the ESO was profitable for six seasons until last year, when it posted a $400,000 loss.

"This is what the labour movement is all about," MacLennan concluded. "AUPE’s members will stand with Edmonton’s symphony musicians because we recognize they are working people like us, and because we know there is strength in supporting each other."


For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Bill Dimmer, Secretary Manager, Edmonton Musicians Association (Local 390 American federation of Musicians), 780-422-2449 or 780-707-1337 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)

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