City council pulls Dallas Black Dance Theatre's $250,000 grant over firing controversy
DALLAS - The Dallas City Council hoped to send a message with a vote on Wednesday that union busting will not be tolerated in Dallas.
The city council voted to strip its quarter million dollar grant from the Dallas Black Dance Theatre after it fired its company of dancers four months ago.
The Dallas Black Dance Theatre had reached a settlement agreement with the union representing the fired dancers Sunday, but city council members said the settlement did not go far enough.
Griff Braun, the national organizing director for the American Guild of Musical Artists, told Dallas City Council members that the Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s current leadership was not worthy of nearly $250,000.
"This week marked the four-month anniversary of the firing of dancers at DBDT, he said. "Four months of public outcry, scrutiny, plummeting ticket sales, donors backing away, widespread calls for change and four months of the reputation of an important institution disintegrating before our eyes."
Dallas Black Dance Theatre President Georgia Scaife explained the terms of the settlement agreement reached Sunday.
"The agreement in addition to making dancers whole for loss of income and expenses, we will have training for all employees and revised policies," she said. "We will ensure employees can raise concerns to management, of course, the board, and we will listen and take action."
But Braun said the agreement fell short of creating necessary change.
"At no point did the board heed the calls of public to hold leadership responsible for the terrible decisions they made," he said.
Councilmember Paul Ridley agreed and proposed cutting the grant funding and reallocating it to other arts organizations.
"What is really lacking in this settlement is any promise of a change in leadership," he said.
Councilmember Adam Bazaldua said he did not want the grant being used to pay for the settlement with the dancers.
"I think we are sending a loud and clear message," he said. "If things aren't any different next year, it will not result in any new outcome. Hopefully, it is a wake-up call."
Some council members were concerned taking away the grant would harm the organization with a long history of positive contributions to the arts up until this summer.
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The theater maintains that the dancers were fired for "violating company policies" after posting a video on social media. But the dancers and some councilmembers say this is a classic textbook case of union-busting.
The money makes up 7% of the organization's budget. But in the end, 11 council members voted in favor of giving the money to other arts organizations.
"We’re going to have big changes," said Councilmember Omar Narvaez. "It will be uncomfortable and hurt, but that's how you get better.
The settlement agreement reached over the weekend also included a personal apology to each dancer for oppressive work rules and an illegal effort to bust the union.
The dancers said they did not want to return to work for the organization without a leadership overhaul.
After the vote, the Dallas Black Dance Theatre president released a statement saying, "The city’s decision will undoubtedly negatively affect the Dallas community through its impact on our ability to deliver the programming and outreach that have defined our commitment to this community for decades."