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.
June 10, 2016
IM -Corporate lobbyists are busy trying to persuade Republican Senators to try to do away with the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which requires all companies seeking publicly funded contracts to report any record of violating workers’ rights on the job. As President Obama explained at its signing ceremony: “Taxpayer dollars should not reward companies that break the law.”
The lobby group opposing the law says that it is unnecessary. However, since 2013, Good Jobs Nation, a group representing 2 million low-wage employees of federal contracts, has filed more than 30 legal complaints on behalf of 500 workers documenting systematic wage theft, misclassification, and other labor law violations at the Pentagon, Smithsonian museums, and other federal offices in Washington, DC. A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigation revealed that one Pentagon food service contractor threatened and intimidated workers who tried to organize.