Eastern Music Festival files unfair labor practice charge against union representing former faculty

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The Eastern Music Festival has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, according to a press release.

The charge comes nearly three weeks after EMF, a five-week summer music education program hosted at Guilford College in Greensboro, announced it would dissolve the organization.

EMF announced the charge Thursday against the Charlotte Musicians’ Association, Local 342 of the American Federation of Musicians, the largest union of musicians in the world, which represents former faculty of EMF in Greensboro.

EMF says AMF Local 342 “failed to bargain in good faith, violating Sections 8(b)(1)(A) and 8(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act,” which guarantees employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.”

EMF filed the charge after AMF Local 342 allegedly stalled negotiations surrounding wages, hours and working conditions, stating that a bargaining agreement began in January 2024; however, after nearly two years with no progress, EMF voted to dissolve the organization in September 2025.

In a statement to FOX8 earlier this month, the AMF Local 342 responded to the board’s decision to cease operations.

“Sadly, the EMF management never acknowledged the faculty’s voice or experience.”

EMF says that same day, a new organization designed to replace EMF was revealed, and that the group was formed earlier in the year while negotiations between EMF and AMF Local 342 were underway.

EMF also claims that AMF Local 342 improperly conditioned negotiations, insisting that management let the union make core managerial decisions, including the right to determine the number of employees hired at the organization, their job duties and the programs and services it offered, actions that do not “necessarily further EMF’s core purpose and mission.”

“By refusing to bargain, AFM’s tactics succeeded in blocking any progress toward a mutually acceptable labor agreement,” said Chris Williams, EMF’s executive director. “EMF’s management and the board went into negotiations in good faith, with the sincere goal of reaching a labor agreement that would fairly compensate the faculty and sustain EMF for years to come. The union’s actions, in concert with self-interested third parties, show that they never intended to reach an agreement. Rather, they used the collective bargaining process to hijack EMF’s mission and force the festival to close. Their actions were unlawful and inexcusable.”