Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

Returning to Work: Freedom to Vote Act

January 1, 2022

As the ball has dropped in Times Square ushering in the 2022 New Year, the hope is that this year will bring improved work situations for all AFM members. Last year brought the reopening of some theaters and music venues, but the return to full employment has been elusive. While we all want to get […]

Be Thankful and Optimistic This Holiday Season!

December 1, 2021

The holidays are upon us! As we continue to struggle with challenges—the San Antonio Symphony musicians’ strike, inflation, supply chain issues, port delays (unloading goods), truck delivery delays, postal service cutbacks, and the slow crawl back to live musical performances in theaters and other music venues—there is still much to be thankful for this holiday […]

AFM Convention Reminders—Early Notice to Locals

November 1, 2021

It’s hard to believe the 102nd AFM Convention is less than eight months away. It will be held at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 20-23, 2022. With the distractions that have been brought on by the pandemic, I wanted to provide locals with an early reminder that Federation per capita dues, Federation […]

Happy Anniversary — On Our Journey Toward Increased Democracy

October 1, 2021

We are celebrating our 125th AFM anniversary. It is a great source of pride to know that we belong to a venerated union with such a long and distinguished history. There were, however, some growing pains as we evolved into the democratic union we have become. One very important steppingstone on our journey toward increased […]

The Passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

September 1, 2021

by Jay Blumenthal, AFM International Secretary-Treasurer On Thursday, August 5, we were all stunned to learn that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka passed away unexpectedly at the age of 72. Rich was the president of the AFL-CIO for the past 12 years. During the four terms he served as president, he built a strong AFL-CIO leadership […]

White House Covid-19 Task Force

August 1, 2021

This July, it became increasingly clear that the Biden Administration’s goal of having 70% of the US population fully vaccinated by July 4th was not going to be achieved. While vaccines have been available, vaccine hesitancy has slowed the rate of getting shots into arms. As of July 14, 56% of the US population had […]

Return to the NYC Office and Other Recent Events

July 1, 2021

It’s been just over 15 months since the AFM New York City headquarters was first forced to close in order to comply with federal and state COVID-19 shutdown restrictions on March 19, 2020. While the office did reopen three months later (June 2020), it was for essential staff only, with strict COVID-19 procedures in place. […]

The PRO Act Would Level the Playing Field for Organizing

June 1, 2021

Organizing is the lifeblood of any union, and with our current labor law, it is the most difficult task we face as a labor organization. It takes commitment, tenacity, and abundant resources to be successful. Organizing new workplaces brings the benefits of collective bargaining to newly organized workers, which grows our membership and creates increased […]

Paycheck Protection Program Available to Unions

May 1, 2021

While unions are organizations that strive to improve the lives of their members and protect workers’ rights in the workplace from unscrupulous employers, unions are also employers themselves. The Federation and its locals (particularly larger ones) retain many employees in order to handle the workload of the union. As many small businesses were forced to […]

A Year in the Life of a Pandemic

March 1, 2021

We are approaching the one-year mark since the onset of the COVID pandemic, which resulted in authorities declaring a public health emergency and a lockdown requiring the closure of our AFM New York City office from March 19 through June 24, 2020. The AFM Los Angeles and Washington, DC offices were closed similarly. These closings […]