Solidarity Is Needed Now More Than Ever

March 1, 2025

IM  -  

President Trump’s election has new consequences on our industry every day. As the AFM president representing musicians, I am outraged when I see government overreach and unlawful acts that jeopardize our safety and threaten our rights as workers. On stage, on public television, or anywhere in between, the AFM stands against undue influence from the federal government designed to suppress our right to free expression. Our art is our speech. And we must be allowed to share our music free from politically-motivated government intimidation. Democracy only thrives with artistic expression.

The Trump administration is defying norms at our federal cultural agencies and beloved institutions. Now is the time to remain steadfast in our mission and affirm our values. We can oppose the forces of exploitation through our union solidarity.

We will never stand for federal interference with our members’ hard-earned contracts and the standards that follow. And we must treat each other with respect and dignity without regard to ethnicity, creed, sex, age, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, or national origin. As a union, we oppose those who seek to limit our freedom to express ourselves as musicians.

Recently, I issued a statement condemning the unlawful firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox. The AFM joined with our fellow unions in AFL-CIO endorsing a congressional letter to Trump calling for the immediate reinstatement of Wilcox to the Board. All Congressional Democrats and one House Republican signed that letter expressing outrage at the clear violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

Trump campaigned on putting employers first. Leaving the NLRB paralyzed with unfilled vacancies does just that. Without an NLRB to enforce the law, workers are left with little remedy in the face of union-busting and threats to workplace standards. The independence of the NLRB is critical to its mission. In firing Wilcox, Trump has discarded nearly nine decades of precedent.

The flurry of adverse executive orders from the Trump administration will naturally tempt us to react to each one. We cannot take the bait every time. But I will speak out when I see laws broken and our members’ livelihoods threatened. To that end, the AFM will always work to protect our members in the United States and Canada.

At the beginning of February, I joined Vice President from Canada Allistair Elliott in a message of solidarity. We will not stand idly by when President Trump threatens a trade war with Canada. As we said at the time, no outside forces can change what brings us together. On both sides of the border, we are all musicians deserving of a fair contract and a safe workplace. I will continue to work with Elliott to achieve those goals for our members in Canada and the United States.

If your job, your contract, or your safety is threatened, we will support you. Now is the time to speak out and be there for each other. As I wrote the day after the election, our solidarity is needed now more than ever.

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