Arts Council to Keep an Eye on Symphony Fuss

The California Arts Council will “not participate in” the grievance that Florinda Mintz-Yoder has lodged against the Pacific Symphony, but nevertheless will hold the orchestra “accountable” in the matter, the head of the council said Wednesday.

Mintz-Yoder had filed a grievance with the agency Nov. 19 after refusing a contract offer to serve as the orchestra’s Hispanic Community Outreach Program coordinator. The program is funded by the Arts Council.

Mintz-Yoder, who had worked without a contract for less than a month, claimed that the offer demanded excessive work for insufficient pay and allowed her to be terminated from the position without cause.

“This is a management-labor issue,” Arts Council director Robert H. Reid said. “It is a Pacific Symphony matter. It is not a matter for us. We’re not a policing agency. That would be totally unworkable for us. We are a state agency with 60 employees. We don’t have a legal staff. . . . (Pacific Symphony) will be held accountable, like every grantee, in the next grant application process.”