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.
Graduate student unionization efforts at private colleges have become more urgent following the election of President Donald Trump.
Even though in 2016 the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) ruled that students may unionize, many fear that they will eventually lose that very right due to Trump’s appointment of two Republicans to the NLRB. The NLRB has a history of flip-flopping on the issue over the past two decades.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has asked companies where its members work (Verizon, AT&T, and six others) to pledge in writing that they will increase employee pay if Congress cuts corporate taxes. Specifically, CWA has asked for them to commit to giving workers a $4,000 raise for every year that the corporate rate is reduced to 20%.
“We are going straight to the people who know how corporations plan to spend the billions of dollars being handed over to them—the CEOs—and asking them if they intend to keep the promises that Trump is making on their behalf,” says CWA President Chris Shelton.
The Trump administration has claimed that, if the corporate tax rate were cut from 35% to 20%, a typical American would make $4,000 more per year. No companies were willing to make the pledge.
When Neil Young of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) rejected Donald Trump’s use of his song for political purposes he was in good company. Rollingstone published a list of 34 artists who objected to the use of their tunes in political campaigns, among them were Bruce Springsteen of Local 399 (Asbury Park, NJ) and 47 regarding Ronald Regan’s use of “Born in the USA”; Dave Grohl of Local 47 over John McCain’s use of “My Hero”; Nancy Wilson of Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA) over Sarah Palin’s use of “Barracuda”; Eddie Van Halen over John McCain’s use of “Right Now”; John Mellencamp of Local 11-637 (Louisville, KY) over John McCain, George Bush, and Ronald Regan’s uses of “Our Country,” “Pink Houses,” “ROCK in the USA,” and “Pink Houses”; Joe Walsh of Local 4 (Cleveland, OH) over Congressman Joe Walsh’s use of “Walk Away”; Neil Peart of Local 298 (Niagara Region, ON) over Rand Paul’s use of “The Spirit of Radio” and “Tom Sawyer”; and David Byrne 802 (New York City) over Charlie Crist’s use of “Road to Nowhere.”
