More Money

I've written before about the travails of the Minnesota Orchestra, whose musicians have now been locked out by management for more than 100 days. It's all because management wants the musicians to take a huge pay cut, in order to make the orchestra more profitable.

With that as background, I found the following somewhat incredible -- meaning, literally, it strained credibility. Last night, at dinner time, I fielded a call from the Minnesota Orchestra. (Not the musicians, but the management.) They were looking for me to contribute a little something something to their endowment fund. I gave the poor phone solicitor an earful about me supporting the musicians not the management, to which I got a continuation of the spiel, to which I said I wouldn't talk to them again until the musicians were paid what they're worth and hung up the phone.

End of story, until I got this follow-up email today. The gall of these people, begging for money while they lock out the musicians that make the Minnesota Orchestra great.


Here's the email:

Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank you for taking the time to speak with a Minnesota Orchestra Phone Representative regarding the Building for the Future campaign. 

The Campaign is poised to accomplish much more than capital improvements – our goal is to raise $30 million to help revitalize the current endowment. This important resource will ensure the continued growth of our artistic success and our financial viability, maintaining the Minnesota Orchestra as a source of inspiration for individuals of all ages for many generations to come. 

If you would like to learn more about this important initiative, please visit our campaign site. Again, thank you for your time. 

Sincerely,
Jessica Rau
Campaign Manager

Can you believe that? They want dissatisfied customers (excuse me, patrons) to contribute even more to their management coffers, even as we're deprived of music from our esteemed musicians. What a way to run a railroad...