Collective action is not a muscle that has often been stretched here in South Florida, and the general attitude around here is to try to keep your head down, accept whatever kind of treatment you receive from employers, don’t make waves, and hopefully you’ll be able to keep your job (one of however many you have to cobble together to survive).

Meanwhile, people still get fired for mistakes, accidents, going through a rough patch, or even random reasons, with no explanation, and given no opportunity to have a discussion, learn, rehabilitate, or improve. This is the definition of fear-based employment, where the managing party maintains control over the workers through the fear of lost income. Fear can be a very powerful emotion. It can stop you from asking for what you need, helping someone else in need, or following through on your dreams.

I hear folks constantly point to the fact that Florida is a “right to work” state, which is really just feeding into the idea that we as workers have no rights to speak up for our own needs, for what is right, or to support our friends and colleagues who are being treated unfairly. This is not the case, and there are plenty of ways that we can stand together for better treatment in our workplaces.

The dancers at Miami City Ballet have made the brave decision to organize through their labor union, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). As you might expect, they have run into some tough pushback from the management of MCB and reached out to Local 655 to ask for support. The organizers from AGMA requested that the orchestra wear AGMA pins during the production of Swan Lake, and for the Local to send a letter to MCB management expressing our solidarity with the dancers. Several orchestra members chose to wear pins and signed the letter, both of which are federally protected actions. The dancers were deeply grateful for our show of support and are eagerly awaiting the ruling on their preliminary NLRB hearing.

These types of collective action might sound scary at first, but they are some very important steps for us in building our community of musicians, not only within the Ballet orchestra but also in the wider community, including the dancers, stage hands and other musicians.

Building community and trust is the first step in building our collective strength, and this bit of collective action has proven to be very positive indeed. It has also had the added benefit of getting musicians to start talking to each other about what “fair treatment” and “good relationships” at our workplaces should look like.

Consider this: artists and workers who take collective action and are represented by a union historically have better pay, better benefits, and better quality of life than those without representation. What kinds of improvements would you like to see in your workplaces?

In Solidarity,
Kendra Hawley
President Local 655