Clearwater Folk Festival negotiations update

UPDATE:

Sisters and Brothers,

I am pleased to tell you that, after weeks of difficult negotiations, we have come to an agreement with the Clearwater Festival. It wasn’t easy and, unfortunately, it had to come down to the threat of a picket line for them to finally come to terms. We have had a long standing relationship with Clearwater but, as staff and board changes, so does the history. As a result, there was a lot of education involved. Clearwater is invested in the musician but, as the nature of Clearwater has changed, so have the negotiations. I was gratified to see our membership come forward and stand up for their union. You all know that we are working with your best interests at heart.

The executive director of Clearwater stated as he sent the final signed contract, “We do truly love our musicians and this document reflects a caring relationship rooted in the pragmatic operation of our crazy Festival…Thank you for processing this with us!”

It was a tough process but we stand united and steadfast in our protection of our sisters and brothers rights and privileges.

Solidarity forever!

Tret Fure

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Sisters and Brothers,

We have been negotiating over the past weeks to renew Local 1000’s union agreement with the Clearwater Folk Festival. Incredibly, the Festival’s management staff has been asking for major concessions, including eliminating travel guarantees for their performers. We have made some movement on some issues in the interest of peace, but we cannot allow what we consider unrealistic and unnecessary proposals to turn back years of progress. We have heard from members of the Clearwater Board that money is not an issue with them. This comes down to an attack on Local 1000 from what appears to be anti-union influences on their staff.

We will be leafleting and demonstrating in front of Clearwater headquarters at 724 Wolcott Ave in Beacon, NY this Thursday, June 7th from 11 A.M. till 1 P.M. We are alerting the press and we expect them to be covering this story. If you are in the area, please join us.

In Solidarity,

The Local 1000 Executive Board