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, 2015
IM -According to the International Union of Food Workers (IUF), union busting by multinational companies is violating the rights of courageous workers overseas.
In West Bengal, India, workers at three warehouses, which are contracted exclusively to the PepsiCo, were fired for defending their rights as workers. The 162 workers were harassed before being let go for forming a union. The beverage giant then offered to secure re-employment, if they agree to never join a union. Supported by the IUF, some of the workers formed an Action Committee to fight for their rights. Together they are demanding the workers be offered jobs at warehouses or in PepsiCo’s own operations, with full back pay and guarantees that their rights are protected.
Phillips Seafood, which runs a chain of seafood restaurants in the US, is being blasted for brutal treatment of workers in Lampung, Indonesia, where it processes crabmeat. Sixty percent of the mostly female workforce has no permanent jobs and are kept on “standby.” When a IUF-affiliated union attempted to begin negotiations for permanent contracts for long-term employees, 205 workers were terminated by text. Jobs were then outsourced to illegal “mini plants” operated from private homes in the forest. Workers at these plants suffer constant cuts. They have no insurance for work-related injuries, so they mut continue to work with open cuts or be out of work until healed.
To show support for these workers log on to the IUF website: http://www.iuf.org.