Category Archives: Unions

First Amendment for reporters? Gannett says ‘NOPE!”

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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

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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