In Friday's interview, Murphy, said that Rockettes were not so easily replaceable. They are dancers who have spent years perfecting the not inconsiderable skill of moving exactly the same way at exactly the same time.
"If they get what they want, there's going to be no consistency on the line," she said.
Murphy, who was born in Philadelphia and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in many ways fits the profile of the longtime Rockette. "I was excited and proud to become a Rockette," she said. "And I'm still proud to be a Rockette."
One of four children, Murphy started dancing at age 3, because her older sister did. She was encouraged by her mother, who works in the accounting department of an eyeglasses company, and her father, a life insurance salesman.
When Murphy was a teenager, her father would drive her to New York and wait outside while she auditioned -- sometimes for eight hours at a time -- for dancing jobs. She got her first break at 16, as part of opening acts in Philadelphia for stars like Connie Stevens and she was hired as principal dancer for a local television variety show, "Evening Magazine."
After attending Philadelphia University of the Arts, where she majored in dance, she danced in commercials, cruise ships and variety and convention shows. In addition to performing in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the Easter Show in New York over the last decade, Murphy toured the US with the Rockettes between 1993 and 1994.
When Murphy auditioned to become a Rockette, she was one of 12 picked out of about 400 women. The audition was rigorous, Murphy recalled: she had to prove herself proficient in jazz, ballet and tap, and in singing as well. Plus there was an interview. "They want to see your public speaking skills," she said. "How you would represent the Rockettes."
Because Murphy is New York regional vice president of her union, she has had to juggle her identities as dancer and labor activist. "But there is nothing that's going to get in the way of how I feel about being a Rockette," she said.
The troupe spends long hours rehearsing in front of a mirror in Radio City's ninth-floor rehearsal studios. Dancers have weigh-ins, when they are evaluated according to a fixed equation that factors in body fat, frame and height and has a six-pound weight range. "Although that is tough, it's an objective way to do it," Murphy said.
Friendships among the dancers build over time and Murphy said this adds an intangible to the quality of the corps. "We work together, side by side, day in and day out," she said. "There's a camaraderie that boosts us."
The veteran dancers are also expected to be an example for the rookies.
How many veterans will remain is now an open question.
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