Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
June 1, 2019
Here is a list of the 2019 symphonic player conference schedule including the ROPA Conference, TMA Conference, OCSM/OMOSC Conference and ICSOM Conference.
May 27, 2019
Even as our national government is mired in anti-labor policies and politics, the entertainment industry has experienced pioneering organizing over the past few years. Actors, writers, even video game workers, are organizing, acting, and gaining improvements. For musicians, our need to participate in the new streaming economy is an existential imperative.
April 8, 2019
The Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) will hold its annual conference at the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel in Hamilton, Ontario, August 12-16.
April 4, 2019
The 36th ROPA Conference will be held this summer in Boston, Massachusetts, July 28-30. There will be a negotiations workshop Saturday, July 27, for orchestras negotiating new CBAs in the current and coming year.
March 11, 2019
The 2019 AFL-CIO MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference was held January 18-21 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
February 12, 2019
My colleague, fellow Local 433 (Austin, TX) member Aaron Lack and I hopped on a plane to Washington, DC, at the beginning of December. We were headed to American Federation of Musicians Leadership Training. The AFM hosted the three days of training with leaders from the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute at the Tommy Douglas Conference Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
December 1, 2018
The 2018 Recording Musicians Association (RMA) General Conference met November 2-3 at Local 802 in New York City. Delegates from New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles gathered to share reports, discuss issues, hear from local and AFM officers and staff, and hold elections.
November 8, 2018
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.
November 7, 2018
On September 27-29, representatives from the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) took part in the Folk Music Ontario Conference (FMO).
October 15, 2018
The 43rd annual Conference of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) was held August 13-17 at the Hotel Pur in Quebec City, Quebec. The Players’ Association of the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec hosted the conference.