Dayton Philharmonic Musicians File Federal Labor Charges Against DPAA

By Daniel Okafor

The musicians of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The filing went to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that polices employer-union conduct.

American Federation of Musicians Local 101-473, the musicians' union, brought the charge. It accuses DPAA management of two things: refusing to bargain in good faith and unilaterally cutting musicians' guaranteed services (contracted performances and rehearsal obligations) while contract negotiations were still underway.

That second point matters. Imposing terms mid-negotiation is the labor-relations equivalent of moving the goalposts, then billing the players for the paint.

What do the musicians allege?

The charge lays out three specific grievances:

• DPAA sent negotiators to the table who lacked the authority to respond to the musicians' proposals or to enter into an agreement.
• DPAA withheld information the union requested as far back as April.
• DPAA imposed a cut to guaranteed services directly in musicians' individual contracts.

The musicians laid out their position in a statement from Local 101-473: "We have spent months at the table trying to reach a fair agreement with people who turned out to have no power to offer one. Management has stalled and failed to provide all the information we've requested. That is why we have asked the federal government to step in."

The statement didn't stop there. "The musicians of this orchestra want a deal, and we have shown up ready to make one at every session. DPAA leadership needs to come to the table with the authority and the good faith the law requires."

Bargaining with an envoy who cannot say yes is, on the musicians' reading, not bargaining at all. It's scheduling.

How did it get here?

The orchestra has been working without a contract since its agreement with DPAA expired on Aug. 31. The musicians have since voted to authorize a strike — the formal permission a union membership grants before a walkout can begin.

A strike authorization is not a strike. It is a loaded instrument placed on the negotiating table, visible to everyone in the room.

The NLRB will now review the charge. If it finds merit, the case moves toward complaint, hearing and potential remedy; if not, it ends quietly. Either way, the musicians have signaled they'd rather fight in federal court paperwork than keep sitting through sessions they say go nowhere.

The next move belongs to DPAA, which now faces a federal process, an expired contract and an orchestra holding strike authorization — three clocks running at once.