Support The Royal Conservatory of Music Faculty

Although I've been remarkably open about the variety of professional work I've had the pleasure to experience over the last few years, there are a lot of things I haven't talked about on this blog.

Since 2003, I've had the honor of being a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music faculty, and have had the privilege of working in one of the finest institutions to be found in the music world. For the last three years I've been a member of the RCM Faculty Association Executive, and even though most of the Faculty Association Executive's work is done behind closed doors, the events of the last few weeks have made it quite public. Martin Knelman's Op-Ed piece of September 28 reported the fact that at the opening of the Royal Conservatory's world-class Koerner Hall, the faculty held a demonstration outside the building. Since late September, three more rallies, the launch of the Faculty Association's Facebook page, and several articles in Canadian culture blogs have publicized a fact rarely known until now:

The RCM faculty have been working without a contract since 2007.

Because of this, the Faculty Association is reaching out to the musical community to support us in our goal of achieving a fair collective agreement. One of the best ways to show your support is to become a fan of our Facebook Page. Here's the link:

The Royal Conservatory of Music Faculty Association/OSSTF Facebook Page (FB ID req'd)

Once management can be persuaded to return to the bargaining table, I hope to be able to update this post with happy news, and I hope that the hard-working, dedicated, and incomparable RCM faculty will be able to move forward professionally as they teach in one of the best musical facilities on the planet.

Update 10/25 9:52pm

Faculty have just been notified that negotiation dates are being scheduled. The following notice was posted on the RCMFA Facebook Page a few minutes ago:

Good news: Management and the Faculty Association are in the process of scheduling negotiation dates. This week, teachers will be wearing blue RCM Faculty Association t-shirts to reinforce the message "GOOD LUCK at the bargaining table!" We would like to thank everyone who assisted in encouraging management to come back to the table. Bargaining dates will be announced as soon as they have been confirmed.