Recent News

Casio Privia PX-350

February 1, 2014

Weighing in at just 25 pounds, Casio Privia PX-350 is the ideal, lightweight, superb-sounding digital piano that gigging players have been dreaming about. It has all the features a pro needs: 88 scaled hammer-action keys, Casio’s best grand piano sound onboard, a total of 250 expressive sounds, MIDI, USB, quarter-inch headphone and output jacks, and […]

Legendary Folk Singer & AFM Member, Pete Seeger Dies

January 29, 2014

Legendary Folk singer, Pete Seeger, dies at 94.  Pete Seeger was a member of AFM, Local 802 & Local 1000, for over 70 years.  Seeger was well-known for being part of the American folk revival as well as a social activist. Click here to read the New York Times article on the folk on Seeger’s […]

David Lowery Testifies About Copyright Laws

January 28, 2014

On January 28, David Lowery of Local 123 (Richmond, VA), a musician and faculty member of the University of Georgia’s Music Business Program testified before the US House of Representatives subcommittee concerning copyright law.  Lowery, an outspoken proponent of artists’ rights is also frontman for the rock bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven.  You can read a transcript of […]

Retired Mine Workers Recover Benefits

January 9, 2014

After almost a year of protests, rallies, and court hearings Mine Workers of America (UMWA) announced it had reached a settlement with Peabody Energy to cover health care benefits for coal miners affected by the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal. Under the agreement Peabody Energy and Patriot will provide more than $400 million to fund retiree […]

California’s Working Families Set Example

January 9, 2014

According to Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, California labor has led the way in bringing real equality and progress to California’s working families. Among the achievements and reforms listed on the website for the California Labor Federation were: minimum wage increased to $10 by January 2016; expanded access to driver’s licenses […]

British Entertainment Workers Exploited

January 9, 2014

According to Britain’s The Stage, exploitation of entertainment industry performers and low-paid workers is on the rise, and the problem is only being compounded by decreased funding for arts organizations. In a report to the Low Pay Commission’s 2014 consultation, UK’s Equity claimed that its members are frequently being asked to work for nothing. Equity […]

Tunisian Rappers Unionize

January 9, 2014

Hip-hop artists in Tunisia have formed their own union, the National Rap Union, which is affiliated with the General Confederation of Tunisian Workers. Italian news agency Ansa reports that the union is not so much about securing fair work contracts as it is about standing up for their rights. Last month Tunisian rapper Klay BBJ […]

Vermont Home Care Workers Unionize

January 9, 2014

In the largest AFL-CIO organizing victory of the year so far, 7,000 Vermont home care workers voted to join Vermont Home Care United, a part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In what is the largest organizing victory in Vermont history, the workers gained bargaining rights with the state government […]

Taxpayers Subsidize Fast Food Industry

January 9, 2014

According to a report from researchers at University of California, Berkeley, most fast food workers are paid so poorly that they are forced to enroll in public assistance programs, despite the industry making $200 billion in profits each year. “The taxpayer costs we discovered were staggering,” says the report’s co-author Ken Jacobs, chair of UC […]

Gift Establishes Juilliard Fellowship

January 9, 2014

A new scholarship program established through a $60 million gift from Bruce and Suzie Kovner will allow 25 Kovner fellowships to The Juilliard School beginning in 2014, with a gradual increase to 52 by the year 2018. The fellowships will pay the full cost of attendance for classical music students selected on the basis of […]