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.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE AFM



Home » Recent News » Halifax Chronicle Herald Striking Workers Channel Their Talents Online


Halifax Chronicle Herald Striking Workers Channel Their Talents Online

  -  

The strike of journalists, photographers, and editors at the Halifax Chronicle Herald, Canada’s oldest independent newspaper, has passed the 100-day mark with no end in sight. During the strike, the newspaper has hired freelance strikebreakers whose unbylined stories have compromised the paper’s reputation with questionable reporting and a lack of editorial oversight. The paper has even resorted to presenting paid advertorials as fact-based stories.

The Halifax Chronicle workers, who first organized Halifax Typographical Union (HTU) in 1999, saw a round of layoffs and early retirements in 2009, which left 60 people to do the work of 100. Now, HTU was asking remaining workers to accept a contract that would see overtime pay start at 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the striking Halifax workers have channeled their skills onto HTU’s online news site, Local Xpress. This spring the site announced it was now a complete, online, nonprofit newspaper. Though they are not yet receiving wages beyond strike pay, the site is giving the workers an expanded online presence.







NEWS