Cleveland Institute of Music Faculty Vote Overwhelmingly to Unionize

A year and a half of “crisis” at CIM reaches a head this week, as a vote to unionize has divided faculty. Credit: Warren LeMay / flickrcc

Following a controversial past year and a half, faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music voted—overwhelmingly—this week to unionize.

Votes casted on the second floor of The Coffee House in University Circle Wednesday and Thursday showed 56 in favor and just 25 opposing it. Roughly 130 faculty at CIM will be joining the Local 4 branch of the American Federation of Musicians, the national union body that backs orchestras and academics.

Union backers, led by oboist Frank Rosenwein, are fighting to leverage higher salaries and semblance of job security, according to letters written by the faction.

That decision comes after what may be one of the most trying eras in CIM’s 124-year-old history as a legacy institution on the city’s east side. A hurricane of complaints, staff departures, lawsuits and ongoing unease amongst students and staff have dominated headlines.

Both sides suggested a bargaining contract will be drafted up before the end of the year.