Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Unionstock: CUPE's holding a concert, and mayor's welcome



From The Windsor Star:
CUPE's holding a concert, and mayor's welcome
"Honeymoon Suite is ... playing a CUPE-sponsored Rock for Public Services concert Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Windsor."
...
Billed as the 'Rock for Public Services' concert, Honeymoon Suite and special guest Spirit will be rocking the Riverfront Festival Plaza this Saturday starting at 7:30 p.m. The free live concert is a non-alcoholic family affair open to all and being staged by CUPE.
Details of the union-sponsored event reveal that the bands will take a two-minute union-mandated break in the middle of each song, followed by a half hour break after playing the first 45 minutes. The time taken up by audience applause and cheering will be factored into the overall time-count for the concert, which may lead to the bands receiving overtime pay.

Ontario CUPE president Sid "sexy specs" Ryan says about the event, "I think we're seeing a paradigm shift with this event in how concerts will be performed and performers are remunerated."

Ryan, however, would not comment on how much in union dues CUPE was taking from the performers of Saturday's concert.