Category Archives: Unions

First Amendment for reporters? Gannett says ‘NOPE!”

Posted on April 1, 2020 by admin

BY JOEL THURTELL Screams from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Those authoritarian Chinese booted our journalists! But Trump expelled 60 Chinese journalists from the US. Do foreign journalists have First Amendment rights? Better question: do … Continue reading →

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‘Trickle up’ at Wayne State

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell “Trickle down” is a conservative economic theory that claims tax breaks and government gifts to top earners will somehow leech their way down to lowlifes at the bottom of the earnings scale. Ever hear of “trickle up”? … Continue reading →

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Do the math: Right-to-work makes great sense at Free Press

Posted on January 19, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Excellent article by Detroit Free Press editorial editor Stephen Henderson explaining why “right to work makes absolutely no sense for Michigan.” Sound arguments all the way. I agree 100 percent. One fact not mentioned: The Detroit News … Continue reading →

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Screwing themselves

Posted on December 8, 2012 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Workers of Michigan! Did you vote Republican? The Republican-run Michigan Legislature just passed right-to-work legislation that will ban closed shops. Without discussion, without committee meetings or public hearings, the Legislature stole from citizens the right to bargain … Continue reading →

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Plugging their ears

Posted on April 11, 2011 by hro50ta1

The strike took an unusually nasty tone. — The New York Times, April 4, 2011, writing about the strike of Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians By Joel Thurtell Strikes are by their nature nasty things. Maybe the Times art critic who … Continue reading →

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Which one?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Which will it be? Both, maybe? The Musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are giving two — TWO! — performances on Sunday, March 6. At 3 p.m., the MDSO are playing at Kirk in the Hills, a … Continue reading →

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Museum orchestras

Posted on February 28, 2011 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell “Museum orchestras.” That’s what retired Wayne State Univesity music Prof. Martin Herman calls most major orchestras in the U.S. Founded by Germans, playing mostly music by dead Germans, according to Prof. Herman. Now, I love Bach, Haydn, … Continue reading →

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Please don’t go to this concert!

Posted on February 23, 2011 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Striking musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are giving a concert this weekend. Please don’t go! It’s Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 8 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, 529 Hendrie Boulevard, Royal Oak, … Continue reading →

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Tone deaf

Posted on February 23, 2011 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell My mistake. Dave Bing must be mayor of Kalamazoo. Or maybe Traverse City. Now that I think of it, Ironwood in the far-off Upper Peninsula is more likely. He can’t possibly be mayor of Detroit, which is … Continue reading →

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How to wreck an orchestra

Posted on February 22, 2011 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Start with a world-class orchestra, one ranked in the top 10 in the United States. What would be the easiest way to destroy such a beacon of musicianship? Well, you could provoke a strike of musicians, and … Continue reading →

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