Secretary-Treasurer

Anyone who lived through the early 1980s will remember US President Reagan’s sabre-rattling with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War with its attendant threat of imminent nuclear annihilation—a group of senile old men in the Kremlin and a has-been actor in the White House, each with their gnarled fingers poised over their Big Red Launch Buttons in a high-stakes game of chicken. The citizens of both countries held their collective breaths for three years, not knowing what the immediate future would bring. It was a very stressful time.

As an American citizen, the present-day atmosphere feels much the same. Setting aside the ongoing unraveling of the US federal bureaucracy upon which Americans depend for some semblance of stability in their lives, the new US administration—populated by a bunch of unbelievably rich people—has apparently decided that it’s time to play chicken again. Only this time, it’s not with adversaries, it’s with friends and allies.

The man occupying the chair formerly identified with the Leader of the Free World has decided it’s all up for a real estate negotiation—all ripe for the taking—that Panama has no sovereign authority, Gaza should be converted into a Mediterranean resort, Greenland does not belong to Denmark (never mind the indigenous people of Greenland), and Canada has no more standing in his mind than as a 51st state.

The orange-coated offal about Canada being annexed is particularly disturbing to me as a longtime AFM officer.

It’s disturbing because I’ve always been extremely proud that the members of this one international union have, through thick and thin, preserved and maintained the idea that we as Canadian and American musicians have much more in common than differences, and yet we honor and cherish our respective national and cultural identities.

What do we have in common? Our music, for one. Whether it’s Euro-centric, Latin, African, Asian, indigenous, folk, jazz, rock, country, and on and on, and without regard to the origins of our individual ethnic heritages, we bring what we do together into one grand continental weaving of a multi-layered cultural experience—for our people and for our lives.

We breathe the same air. We drink the same water. Our feet stand on a land unimpressed by political boundaries. We share a language.

These things, both natural and ethereal, are our glue.

And yet, we are still Canadians and Americans. As Canadian and American musicians, we must stand together, because no one else will stand with us. We are here for each other.

So, I say to Canadian members, be not too worked up by that musky odor emanating from behind the orange curtain with its eau d’imperialism wafting through the air. Can’t happen. It’s nothing but a distraction. Guard and honor your water, your air, your land, and your form of government. Hold on to who you are, and remember that we are all in this together.

Since January 20 of this year, the relentless 24-hour news cycle drumbeat has forced me to reflect upon just what makes a nation great. I’ve read Project 2025, and it does not chart a pathway to national greatness.

“A great nation is one that can feed the people.” That’s what a wise old Lakota elder once told me, and remembering those words set me to thinking:

A great nation does not accept that its people have to dig through garbage dumpsters in hopes of finding something to eat. A great nation is one where nobody is hungry, with sufficient food to eat.

A great nation is one where nobody is homeless; where everyone has a warm place to live. A great nation does not accept its people living in cardboard boxes in alleyways. With its “Housing First” strategy, Finland’s homeless rate was reported at .08% in 2020. That’s 8/100ths of a percent.

A great nation is one that takes care of the health of its people. A great nation should not tolerate its people driven to financial desperation because of medical costs. According to a US News and World Report survey, the northern European/Scandinavian countries provide the best public health care systems in the world.

A great nation is one that values the diversity of its people. The people of a great nation will understand the value of honoring and embracing the rich tapestry of cultures that form its collective human experience.

A great nation is one that takes care of its environment for future generations. A great nation does not leave fouled air and water for its children and grandchildren to clean up. The people of a great nation leave their land in better shape than when they came to it.

A great nation is one where the people take only what they need to live well; where those who, through hard work or luck of the draw, have more than they need share their good fortune for the wellbeing of their neighbors.

A great nation takes care that its children are educated with truth, where books are cherished, not banned; where history is embraced, not shaped; where historical honesty, not comfort or convenience, is honored.

A great nation is one that establishes enduring laws for the benefit of all its people, not a select few; laws that mean the same thing no matter who reads them, whether the reader wears a black robe, a suit, a uniform or overalls, whether the reader is in a legislature, a courtroom, a boardroom or a living room.

A great nation values its art and culture, because its art and culture will be its only lasting and durable way of communicating to and being remembered by the future generations.

A great nation is secure in its place in the world and coexists in harmony with its neighbors. The people of a nation existing in harmony are happy.

The Lakota elder told me that the leaders of a great nation always follow the people, leading from the rear­—that way, no one gets left behind.

Eric Stockton Welcomed to Secretary-Treasurer’s Office

Avid readers of the International Musician will have noticed in last month’s issue that AFM Assistant Secretary Wages Argott, who joined my staff a year ago, has returned to his previous position in the President’s Office as Director of Freelance Services and Membership Development. That position is a good fit for Wages’ skills and strengths, and I know he will bring a renewed and refreshed energy to his department.

Wages’ decamping back to the President’s Office created a vacancy on my staff, and I am pleased to announce that it has been filled by Eric Stockton, who assumed the position of Assistant Secretary on January 1. Eric is a freelance guitarist, active in the Local 802 (New York City) musical theater sector, and for the past year has worked as an administrator in the AFM Immigration Services department. In addition to being a bear for accurate and detailed work, Eric brings with him a passion for musicians organizing to build their power in the workplace. He will be a valuable addition to my office and an asset to the Federation.

Just the facts, ma’am

Just as there is a season for the cold, dry Arctic air to sweep across the Canadian tundra, so is there a season for a Secretary-Treasurer to dust the reader’s eyes with cold, dry financial information. As a rank-and-file member, I often found this kind of information to be singularly uninteresting, and I have labored these past few months to avoid showing readers of this column what it feels like to watch paint dry. The Muses, however, sometimes just bolt off into the darkness, cackling in a conspiratorial manner, leaving me high and dry with nothing to offer a reader but the literary equivalent of evaporating paint. This month’s column shall accordingly suffer as a consequence of the Muses’ unauthorized time off.

The previous administration, piloted by former President Ray Hair and former Secretary-Treasurer Jay Blumenthal, left this Federation in very commendable financial shape. This was achieved, in part, by aggressive bargaining with employers in the electronic media sector and securing new revenue streams from sources adjunctive to Federation operations. But the good financial health was also achieved by a parallel tightening down of expenses, and doubly so during the height of the pandemic when the future resisted offering any semblance of predictability. They kept a firm lid on salaries, and staff vacancies were not filled. Annual budgets were always balanced, and the year-end bottom line fell into the black for each of the past 10 years. With their stewardship, the Federation got “cashed up real good.”

The problem arises, however, that having cash is not of much use if it can’t be put to work. For many, many years, the Federation, by long-standing Convention directive and bylaws requirement, has been restricted from any type of deficit budgeting, which is to say that the IEB could not intentionally use cash reserves to fund new initiatives; everything had to be planned and paid for with current revenue.

A few areas of the Federation's operation have suffered as a consequence. By the start of this administration, the Theatre/Touring/Booking (TTB) Department was reduced to a staff of one; the Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) was pushed to the edge of overwork, the salaries in the understaffed Federation’s Canadian Office were not at par with their US counterparts, and the Organizing Department was entirely devoid of personnel.

Unions don’t function without people, and, more particularly, a union with no active Organizing Department is guaranteed not to grow. The delegates to the 2023 Convention took note of this situation and formally opened a portal to permit the IEB to use cash reserves to support organizing.

With the ability to earmark cash reserves for organizing, current revenue could be committed to support other departments and divisions. President Tino Gagliardi and the IEB have, over the past year, slowly undertaken the process of rebuilding these areas of operation, adding vibrant and competent staff to EMSD, deploying a TTB field negotiator to assist locals with bargaining local theatrical agreements, injecting new resources into the Freelance Services Department, funding additional personnel in the Canadian Office and addressing the salary inequities there, and punching up the Federation’s Government Affairs office in Washington, DC.

Near and dear to my heart, however, is the restaffing of the Federation’s Organizing Department. With an Organizing Director, two energetic field organizers, and a whip smart researcher now on staff in the Organizing Department, the Federation is for the first time in many years well-positioned, in partnership with local unions and the members, to actively engage in the real work of a labor union, namely, to foster development of rank and file power in the workplace—be that a symphony, studio, theater, festival, club, or coffee house—so that musicians can obtain the standard of living that their—our—work deserves.

The new coat of paint in 2025 will look good, I think.

The one thing I appreciate about the outcome of the US elections this year is that the results are unambiguous. This provides a heightened clarity of purpose for the next two years, if not the next four, for anyone who makes a living in the arts or who works in the labor movement.

Funding for the arts: As of this writing, all signals and projections indicate that Congress will be controlled by the Republican Party. Partnered with a Republican executive branch and its promises to reduce taxes, the new Congress can be expected to approve a significant reduction in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help pay for those tax cuts. NEA funding is central to symphonies, opera companies, ballet companies, theater companies, and many other smaller performing arts organizations that employ musicians. Reduced funding will translate to reduced employment opportunities.

Trade tariffs: I try to “buy American” whenever possible. In these modern times, “buying American” for me means products made in the US, Canada, or Mexico. But today’s reality in the open market means that many, many products that we use in our daily lives as musicians come from overseas manufacturers—predominantly Asian countries that are likely targets for the next administration’s tariffs. We should brace for supply disruptions and price increases as tariffs are applied.

Artificial intelligence and intellectual property: The Biden administration issued an executive order to all executive branch federal agencies requiring that they take into consideration creators’ and performers’ rights with respect to any regulatory or administrative initiatives undertaken by those agencies in connection with AI and IP. The Democratic-led Senate issued a call to all the congressional subcommittees to do the same for any future legislative initiatives. It’s fair to expect the next US president to rescind that executive order and for Congress to rebalance its responsiveness to legislative lobbying in favor of Silicon Valley’s general view that the development of all things digital should not be impeded by regulatory barriers.

Unionizing: We’ve already been through this one. Freelance gigging musicians have always had the short end of the stick under US labor law rights. Notwithstanding that, however, federal support for bringing gig workers under the protective umbrella of labor rights was on the uptick in the last three years. We can expect that trend to slowly reverse as the federal judiciary and National Labor Relations Board are slowly remade in Project 2025’s image.

Tax reform and working across the border: Professional employees lost their right to deduct employee expenses under the 2017 tax reform legislation. Regaining that right was beginning to appear within reach with a responsive Congress in place, but it now appears that we will need to grow longer arms. Canadian members already have an unfairly difficult time securing visas to play gigs in the US; with the incoming administration’s intention to tighten US borders, it seems less likely that it will extend a welcoming hand to musicians north of the 49th parallel.

So what’s changed for US musicians? Actually, not much. All that is different is the degree of the incoming national leaders’ resistance to recognizing the need to foster and support a vibrant, healthy, and growing musical economy and ensure that the musicians who make it happen are given a fair shot at making a living in that economy. The resistance will be greater. The wisdom to recognize music as a necessary component to a healthy society and a healthy economy will be diminished. The work that we’ve only just begun under the DEI banner to address workplace sexism, ageism, harassment, discrimination, and bullying will no longer have the full-throated support of the federal government as grant and support programs gradually wink out for lack of funding.

But the work that will be ahead of us next year is the same work that was ahead of us last year. Arm in arm, we will keep on keeping on.

With a fully-equipped organizing department, a well-connected director of government affairs in our DC office, a professional and highly-motivated staff, dedicated local officers, and, most importantly, a motivated and engaged membership, we are well-positioned and firmly committed to get done what needs doing.

As of this writing, the US presidential elections have not yet been held, although I suspect that as this paper hits the membership’s mailboxes, the votes will have been counted, the networks will have announced a winner, and the promised lawsuits challenging the outcome will have been filed. Can American musicians look forward to a supportive federal government? Which parties control the houses of Congress? Which parties control your state’s executive and legislative branches?

As I write this column in mid-October, those questions are live, sparking wires, indeed. By the time you read this, those questions will probably be answered. Canadian members, it will be your turn next. What examples can you take from the American elections to help you shape the outcome you desire for your national political and legislative leaders?

Whatever the outcome for either country, the main task in front of us as musicians and union members will be to remain strong, determined, and focused. We get only what we demand. No one will give it to us out of the goodness of their hearts; capitalism doesn’t work that way, regardless of whether liberal- or conservative-leaning politicians are in power. Our National Legislative Office will be carefully curating a list for 2025 of who are our friends, who are our enemy combatants, and who needs to become our friends—the first step in what will be a long-game campaign to fix the 2017 tax reform, pass the American Music Fairness Act, secure guardrails for musicians as the development of artificial intelligence continues its inexorable forward roll, work for a more equitable visa program for Canadian members working in the US, and develop a better system for carrying instruments through our airports.

Group Membership Insurance Programs Update

We are two months behind schedule, but our fervent wish and intention is that the AFM’s group insurance administrators, HUB/Insureon/VIU, will have all our new and improved group membership insurance programs in place. A few kinks and details are being hammered out, but as program completion draws near, we anticipate a new benefits program that will offer members more options and more individually tailored types of policy offerings. AFM Assistant Secretary Wages Argott and AFM Communications Director Antoinette Follett have been steadily and energetically working with the insurance representatives for the past two-and-a-half months, refining the scope of coverages and developing pathways to update and inform the membership and position local union officers with the information and tools to assist members in obtaining the coverages they need. Learn more about the policies offered in this article.

Emergency Relief Fund Available for Members Impacted by the Hurricanes

Emails, along with web and print articles, abound but it bears repeating at every juncture: AFM members in good standing who live or were employed as musicians in the areas designated by FEMA as “Federal Disaster Areas for individual assistance” and who suffered losses from the hurricanes and storms not covered by insurance can apply to the AFM Emergency Relief Fund to help in their recovery from such losses.

The application form, policy guidelines, and instructions can be downloaded from the AFM website at www.afm.org/emergency-assistance.

Additionally, financial assistance is available from the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). For information and eligibility of other resources available for musicians affected by natural disasters and public health crises, such as COVID, visit: www.entertainmentcommunity.org/am-i-eligible-help.

Union members who participate in Union Plus programs may be eligible for additional financial assistance through the Union Plus Disaster Relief program. To date, this fund has provided over $1 million in assistance to union members facing hardships. To learn more about the benefits and eligibility requirements, go to: www.unionplus.org/hardship-help/disaster-relief-grants.