Executive Board Members, Officer Columns, Organizing

Time to Ask “The Question”

September 1, 2021

by Dave Pomeroy, International Executive Board Member and President of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) Over the past few decades, even before the pandemic, almost everything about the way we make records has been transformed. Hit recordings are being made in bedrooms and basements as well as big commercial studios. Music consumers have more choices than […]

What Is Organizing, Anyway?

August 1, 2021

Welcome to the first Organizing-focused issue of the International Musician. You may be familiar with the phrase “organizing is the lifeblood of labor unions,” but what exactly is organizing? Broadly, it is people joining together around shared issues to build collective power and win positive change. In my early career as a touring theater musician, […]

David vs. Goliath: Musicians Take on HBO—and Win

August 1, 2021

When it comes to labor organizing, it takes hard work and collective action to win. But often it only takes one person to start that change in motion. In March, cellist Theo Zimmerman of Local 802 (New York City), one of a group of musicians from all over the Northeast, was contacted about several days […]

Organizing for a Successful Campaign: A Study from Fort Wayne

July 31, 2021

When we think of union campaigns, we often think of people in the streets, a media presence, and pressure from the public, but these are actually the fruits of successful organizing that preceded them. Any organizer who has run a successful campaign knows the amount of preparation, research, and planning that is put in ahead […]

A Win for Local 293 and Hamilton, Ontario: Musician Fair Wage Policy Approved

May 4, 2021

In February, the Hamilton, Ontario, city council overwhelmingly passed a new policy that guarantees fair wages for musicians at all city-funded events. During the pandemic, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger put together a task force on economic recovery, which included the music industry as a separate sector for the first time. If the city wanted to […]

What Has RMA Been Up to Lately?

May 1, 2021

The one thing we can be confident of is that we will need to remember our common needs and goals. We will survive COVID-19, as we have survived all along: by banding together.

Spring into Action: Preserving Musicians’ Work Through Audience Education

May 1, 2021

The 23rd annual Theatre Musicians Association conference was held this past August at the new AFM Local 47 office in Burbank, California. It was a day and a half of interesting and informative addresses, presentations, and discussions.

Musicians of Chicago’s Teatro Zinzanni Win Union Recognition During COVID

June 29, 2020

In March, musicians performing with the Chicago Teatro Zinzanni dinner-and-show production successfully voted to form a union, with official results of the election certified on May 28. Teatro Zinzanni arrived in Chicago as a “proudly non-union” company. “When we were hired, we were told that Teatro Zinzanni worked hard to keep the union out,” says […]

Crises Show Why We Organize

March 30, 2020

Theres no doubt that crises show why we organize. Here are some examples of how our collective power can make a difference for musicians.

Report on the 2020 AFL-CIO MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference: “Give Us the Ballot”

March 11, 2020

From January 17-19, I had the great pleasure of representing the AFM at the 2020 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference, held at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C. The theme of the conference, “Give Us the Ballot, Political Boot Camp,” emphasized the importance of us getting out to vote and making sure our members understand why the 2020 election is critical.