Musicians who try out for the Lyric Opera orchestra know that each note will be judged by exacting ears. And to hear the federal mediator who handled the Lyric’s recent contract negotiations tell it, even he was subjected to an audition of sorts.
The first time Jim Schepker got involved with Lyric orchestra musicians and management in the early 1980s, both sides requested separate meetings with him. Schepker then recalls getting quizzed on a number of subjects–including his taste in music, which at that time was not exactly Verdi or Mozart.
“I told them it ran toward the Kingston Trio and the Chad Mitchell Trio,” Schepker recalled. “But when I said that I played a 12-string guitar and banjo during my youth, I saw the string players sit up. At least I had said `strings.’ “
In the years since, Schepker has mediated many rounds of contract talks for both the Lyric and the Chicago Symphony orchestras. Although he may not wield a baton, musicians and management alike are quick to praise his skills at conducting a bargaining session.
Schepker is a calm, soft-spoken man who makes his living behind closed doors as opposed to the live concert hall. Nonetheless, he has profoundly affected the city’s classical music scene. Over the last six months, Schepker was instrumental in helping both the Lyric and CSO avert strikes and keep their seasons intact.
In the Lyric talks, it was Schepker who called musicians and management together for a 14-hour session that produced an agreement just nine days before the Sept. 20 season opener.
“He’s a terrific guy, really liked and respected on both sides of the table,” said Lyric general director William Mason. “He’s eminently fair, and just an excellent person to work with. And he’s been crucial in getting settlements for us over the last few years.”
In October, Schepker guided CSO musicians and management to a pact that came after eight hours of bargaining–and less than 24 hours before the opening of a newly refurbished Symphony Center. Moments after that agreement was reached, Schepker was affectionately dubbed “The Music Man” by Michael Greenfield, the attorney who represented members of both orchestras through the Chicago Federation of Musicians Local 10-208.
Schepker, who works out of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service office in Hinsdale, has handled not only orchestras, but a broad range of labor groups over his 23-year career (including teachers unions, actors guilds and Cubs groundskeepers, to name a few).
He is quick to downplay his role in the Lyric and CSO settlements. He’d rather discuss finer points of labor-management negotiations, such as the six steps of problem-solving or how to conduct win-win bargaining.
Urged to turn the focus back on his musical track record, Schepker demurred in best mediator fashion, then offered: “I can’t say it doesn’t feel good for people to acknowledge the work that you do.”
Win some, lose some
One reason Schepker and his fellow mediators resist taking too much credit is that “we’d be killing ourselves over the ones where the sides don’t settle,” he said. “It’s difficult to go home after a meeting where there’s a lot of emotion. You’re driving back home, replaying the situation in your mind, saying, `What could I have done differently?’ You hate to see strikes.”
And Schepker has witnessed a few. In 1985, he was unable to stop Chicago Public School teachers from striking. That two-day work stoppage ended only after Gov. Jim Thompson intervened in negotiations.
Schepker also was present when CSO members walked out in 1991, the inaugural season of conductor Daniel Barenboim. Not that he likes to dwell on it. “I’ve put it behind me, though I’m sure I was disappointed,” he said. “If the desire to settle isn’t there, there’s not a lot a mediator can do.”
Much of a mediator’s job, Schepker said, involves using humor to break tense moments, or reading body language to sense which way discussions are shifting. If the parties publicly declare an impasse, Schepker does not give up. He banks on the mutual trust he hopes both sides have in him to get them back to the table.
Such was the case when the Lyric talks broke down in September and rehearsals were canceled. The opera’s 43rd season was in peril, and the situation was so serious that Lyric stagehands, chorus members and technicians had begun seeking other jobs.
“They were getting close to `What are we going to do with (the season opener) “Nabucco”?’ And the cost of not agreeing was beginning to weigh heavily on both sides,” Schepker said.
So he called orchestra representatives and management, talking to them in confidence. “In mediation, you can (say) things off the record without making commitments,” Schepker said. “And I could sense that they really wanted to reach an agreement. When you’ve done this long enough, you know.”
It had been at least two decades since contract talks had edged so close to opening night. “I think everyone felt the tension, and I certainly felt it,” he said. But music helped soothe the frayed nerves: “There was always classical music playing in the background whenever we went in for a caucus.”
In contrast to the Lyric, “The CSO had been much more traditional in bargaining near their deadline,” Schepker said. “That’s not unusual for them.”
Creatures of crisis, mediators such as Schepker rarely gain public notice. It can come when a newsworthy negotiation has foundered or a strike is under way and the parties call for federal help. Otherwise, mediators usually toil far from any spotlight, peacefully forging accords–and rarely if ever stopping to talk to the press.
Plenty to talk about
The federal mediation service was formed in 1947 as an independent agency. Its director reports to the president, and its mandate is to help settle labor disputes while maintaining a neutral, non-political stance.
In the Hinsdale office, Schepker is one of nine staff mediators (known officially as commissioners). In a typical year, he might handle between 40 and 50 labor disputes, each one lasting an average of three days. August tends to be his busiest month because of school contract talks.
“Right now, I’m involved in 11 contract negotiations, and I’m monitoring another 50,” he said. “The difficult part is trying to juggle the schedule. A lot of contracts expire at the end of the month.”
Schepker, who is married and has two children, has learned to deal with his crazy calendar. “I love my job; I love my work. The only thing is, I don’t know when my day is going to end,” he said. “It’s going in at 9 in the morning, and your daughter has a dance recital in the evening, and you don’t know if you’re going to be able to make it. But once you get some momentum going, you don’t want to stop.”
Still, even a mediator knows where to draw the line. If close friends or relations ask him to broker a personal dispute, he might offer some general pointers–but that’s about it.
“People think mediators don’t have problems at home,” Schepker said. “But the closer you are to someone, the harder it is to find a solution. If you don’t have emotional attachment to the issues, it’s easier. So with friends and family, I try to be very careful.”
