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.
December 1, 2022
For some time, the Officer Education Committee, which I chair, has been working in conjunction with the Diversity Committee to put together a training program for AFM leadership, senior staff, local officers, and boards. This will eventually flow through AFM leadership to our members at large. The AFM, as well as most unions over our […]
December 1, 2022
As a member of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), Canada was asked to participate in lobbying our government representatives who are attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to vote against a proposal by Brazil (CoP19 Prop. 49) to move Pernambuco trees from Appendix II to […]
November 1, 2022
The Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF) will celebrate its 75th Anniversary in 2023. This article explores the establishment of the MPTF, which led to the formation of the AFM’s pension and residual funds. If you receive benefit payments from the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund, residual distributions from the Sound Recording Special […]
November 1, 2022
A vexing problem that has been, and continues to be, a challenge is the slow but steady decline in AFM membership. At one point in our history, the AFM had over 300,000 members. Of course, those were the days that many radio stations had entire symphony orchestras on staff, theaters had orchestras to accompany the […]
November 1, 2022
I was attending my first International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians(ICSOM) Conference in 2011 when I learned about the Theatre Musicians Association (TMA). Tom Mendel, who was TMA president, gave a report on TMA at the conference. Afterwards, I took the opportunity to introduce myself and ask his advice about starting a chapter in […]
October 1, 2022
Note: As I am preparing this column for the October edition of the International Musician—today, September 11, 2022—America and the world pause on the 21st anniversary of the vicious attacks in New York City; Washington, DC; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Reprinted below is an article I wrote for our local newsletter as president of Local 72-147 […]
October 1, 2022
The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has been in the news recently but what does it do? Here are a few of the urgent issues this act’s provisions attempt to address: 1) Climate change increasingly impacts all of our lives. Storms have intensified bringing flood and wind damage that leaves death, destruction, and broken […]
October 1, 2022
As I write this, Canadian locals have just attended a presentation by Lisa Freeman, executive director of the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC). My sincere appreciation goes out to Freeman, who took the time to apprise those in attendance on the status and short-term objectives her team faces in anticipation of pending updates to Canada’s […]
October 1, 2022
This November, the citizens of Illinois will be given the opportunity to make history. The Workers’ Rights Amendment will be the first issue on the ballot where voters will be asked to vote on giving protections to workers and unions. If passed, it will prohibit the passage of “right to work” laws and ban any […]
October 1, 2022
For the past 37 years the AFM has led the charge on Capitol Hill to secure funding to keep the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in place. Now, we need your help contacting your senators. AFM members whose employers depend on annual grant allocations from these […]