Tag Archives: audit

Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

Update on Coronavirus Response, Reports, Conferences, the 2019 Audit

Without question, the COVID-19 crisis has created the most serious challenge to AFM members in our 124-year history. Essentially, live music has temporarily ceased due to social distancing and shelter-in-place rules. As a union, we have been working tirelessly to help mitigate the myriad of challenges we face today. We have had success in Washington, DC making sure our advocacy for musicians produces real results. The coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency provisions expand unemployment insurance to include “gig workers” and freelance musicians in addition to W-2 and 1099 employment. There are supplemental payouts up to $600 in addition to the state benefit. Also, there is extended benefit coverage up to an additional 13 weeks and a waiver of the one-week waiting period before collecting your benefit.

As you know by now, all AFM offices are temporarily closed due to governmental directives and our desire to protect the health and safety of AFM members and staff. Most AFM staffers are working remotely and are able to respond to questions by email. An email address list of AFM staff can be found by way of a link on the AFM.org website homepage.

Annual Report

The AFM 2019 Annual Report will soon be available on the AFM.org website for review and download. I will have an email blast sent to members as soon as it is ready to view. After it is posted, go to the Document Library/Financial Documents and Annual Report folder and look for the 2019 Annual Report. In the past, the AFM annual report has been printed, however, the delegates to the 2019 AFM Convention voted to print the annual report only in convention years. This represents a savings of the cost for printing, shipping, and mailing in two of the three years between conventions.

The 2019 Annual Report includes the international president, vice president from Canada, and secretary-treasurer’s officer reports, as well as reports from several AFM staff members. It also contains the recently audited 2019 financial statements and the International Executive Board 2019 meeting minutes. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.

AFM Conference CHANGES!

As of this writing, there have been some changes to the AFM regional conference schedule. The Eastern Conference has been rescheduled to take place April 17 through 18, 2021 in King of Prussia, PA. The Locals’ Conferences Council/Player Conferences Council (LCC/PCC) meeting has been rescheduled to take place October 17 through 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, NV (Westgate Hotel). The Canadian Conference has been postponed, with new dates to be announced. Future date changes will be posted on
AFM.org. Click on the Document Library tab and then the Conferences folder.

AFM Bylaws books and List of Locals booklets

The AFM bylaws books and List of Locals booklets were mailed to all local affiliates. The French language AFM bylaws were mailed to the appropriate Canadian locals. If your local has not received your copies, please let us know by emailing a message to the AFM Secretary-Treasurer’s Office.

LM Reports

For those locals that have a calendar fiscal year (January 1 through December 31), your LM report should have been uploaded to the Department of Labor site. The deadline was 90 days from the close of your fiscal year (This year March 30 was the due date—2020 being a leap year). Your latest local constitution and bylaws should have been uploaded as well.

AFM Audit

The annual AFM audit is well underway. While it appears we will have a surplus for 2019, there are many unknowns for 2020. The coronavirus (COVID-19) governmental directives are having a severe economic impact on musicians, locals, and the Federation. In anticipation of the economic fallout, we are monitoring our affected revenue streams and doing our best to manage expenses. We will remain vigilant during these challenging times.

We wish continued good health for all AFM members. Be smart—stay safe, wash hands frequently, practice social distancing, and use good sense if you must leave your home.

afm audit
Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

It’s Spring—Finally!

While many are welcoming the arrival of spring with cherry blossoms, light green foliage as tree leaves make their annual debut, and erupting flower beds, AFM local officers have been hard at work preparing and uploading their DOL Labor-Management reports and wrapping up their 2016 audits. Indeed, spring is a very busy time of year for AFM Secretary-Treasurers. As we wrap up our paperwork for last year, we are all provided with an opportunity to reflect back on 2016.

This year’s annual AFM audit will confirm the Federation had a surplus in 2016; however, the surplus was smaller than those reported in recent years. The primary reason for this can be attributed to higher legal costs. Negotiating successor agreements, and holding employers accountable, has been a hallmark of this administration. In the recording industry, some film companies and record labels have not been meeting their contractual obligations in full. This has resulted in litigation initiated by the AFM. In several instances, rather than going through protracted and expensive litigation, settlements have been reached putting payments into the pockets of musicians now rather than rolling the dice for a potential win (or loss) years down the road. Unfortunately, in a few cases, settlements could not be reached so some litigation continues. 

Litigation can be very expensive, so our legal bills for 2016 shot up dramatically. Realizing large legal bills are not financially sustainable, AFM President Ray Hair and I discussed how we might better contain legal costs without sacrificing our responsibility to maintain and enforce our national contracts. Consequently, we made two new hires to serve as attorneys, joining our In-House Legal Counsel Jennifer Garner. These new attorneys are embedded in various AFM departments. In-House Counsel for the AFM West Coast Office Russell Naymark and Special Counsel and SSD Director Rochelle Skolnick will help litigate cases thereby reducing our dependence on outside counsel. While there will be times when we need outside expertise, the hope is that these additions to our staff will aid in bringing down our legal costs.

Labor-Management Report

The AFM’s 2016 Labor Management report (LM-2) was uploaded successfully and timely to the Department of Labor (DOL) site. AFM locals and conferences with a January to December fiscal year should have completed and submitted their 2016 LM report to the DOL as the deadline was March 31. There is no grace period! Beginning with the January 2017 fiscal year, all LM reports must be signed and filed electronically. (See my September 2016 International Musician Secretary-Treasurer column, page 4.)

AFM Annual Report

The AFM 2016 Annual Report is currently being prepared. It is comprehensive and contains reports from the AFM president, general counsel, vice president from Canada, secretary-treasurer, auditor (BDO) with financial statements, Federation division directors, the editor of the International Musician, and the AFM International Executive Board minutes. When ready, electronic copies of the annual report will be e-mailed to all AFM locals and will be available on the member’s side of the AFM.org website. Printed copies will be made available to locals upon request.

List of Locals

The 2017 List of Locals booklet has been printed and mailed to each local. If your local has not received your copies, please let Assistant Secretary Jon Ferrone jferrone@afm.org know so we can follow up. The 2017 List of Locals is also available electronically on the Member’s section of the AFM.org website. After logging in, go to Document Library / Miscellaneous Folder / 2017 List of Locals.

Now go enjoy springtime!