On this day in labor history, the year was 2011.
That was the day the National Labor Relations Board ruled that musicians in Lancaster, Pennsylvania were employees, not independent contractors.
Veteran musicians with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra attempted to organize a union in 2007.
They challenged the dictatorial methods by which musicians were treated.
They wanted a contract to spell out rules for hiring, firing, auditioning, grievance procedures and more.
When it came time to sign union cards, the Symphony opposed the election, claiming the musicians were independent contractors.
The musicians filed with the regional Labor Relations Board. After receiving an unfavorable ruling, they turned to the national offices in Washington, DC.
There, the Board utilized the “common law agency test,” to determine the musicians’ status. Questions discern how much control workers have over the way they work, are they highly skilled, how are they paid, do they provide their own tools, or in this case, instruments.
When more answers tilt towards yes, workers are considered independent contractors.
The NLRB determined that though these workers are paid on a 1099 instead of a W-2 form, they are employees because of their working conditions.
They concluded that orchestral management exerted a great deal of control. Management determined musicians’ dress, their posture and behavior before, during and after rehearsals and concerts.
Management also imposed discipline and firings. Musicians voted to join the Greater Lancaster Federation of Musicians the next spring.
But their victory was soon undercut by management’s refusal to negotiate a first contract.
The musicians filed an unfair labor practice and won. The symphony took the case to a federal appeals court, which settled in the union’s favor in Spring 2016.
December 1 - Standing Up for Themselves and Their Patients
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
November 17 - Resisting Impressment
November 16 - NFL Players End Strike
November 15 - The IWW is Raided
November 14 - The Origins of CWA
November 13 - The Holland Tunnel Opens
November 12 - Striking Against Privatization
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