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.

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Home » Recent News » NEA and Prevailing Wage: Unions Educate the US Department of Labor 


NEA and Prevailing Wage: Unions Educate the US Department of Labor 

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On December 12, the Department for Professional Employees (DPE) of the AFL-CIO hosted a meeting of the arts, entertainment, and media industry unions with the administrator of the Wages and Hours Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL) to discuss enforcement of the prevailing wage requirement in connection with direct and indirect grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). 

The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, which created the NEA and NEH, requires that performers and other professionals hired by organizations for projects assisted by NEA and NEH funding be paid the prevailing area wage for their work. However, enforcement of this rule over the past decades has been lax, with little follow-up and oversight by either the NEA/NEH as the grantors or the DOL as the enforcer. 

Working closely with the Biden administration, the DPE successfully prevailed upon the NEA and the NEH last year to incorporate the prevailing wage rule in all documentation and forms that a funding applicant would see in the process of obtaining a grant. The December 12 meeting provided an opportunity for the arts, entertainment, and media unions to educate the DOL on the various ways in which a prevailing wage is determined in different localities across the US. 

The AFM was represented by International Secretary-Treasurer Ken Shirk. Other presenters included representatives from the stagehands union, Actors Equity, the broadcasting wing of the electrical workers union, the stage directors union, AGMA, the Writers Guild of America, and SAG-AFTRA. 

(See page 3 for more details on the Federation’s efforts to collect this data from AFM locals.) 







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