Tag Archives: lcc-pcc

Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

Updates From the Secretary-Treasurer’s Desk

List of Locals

Recently the List of Locals booklet was updated and uploaded to the afm.org website. We are in the process of mailing hard copies of the 2018 booklets to all AFM locals. If you have not received your office copies yet, they should be arriving soon. Changes to the List of Locals are updated on our website regularly and are announced in the International Musician. Any changes to your local’s information should be sent by email to AFM Executive Assistant Nadine Sylvester (nsylvester@afm.org) with a copy to AFM Assistant Secretary Jon Ferrone (jferrone@afm.org).

Disney Campaign

The campaign to increase pay for many Disneyland workers is underway. It has been reported that some workers cannot make ends meet due to their low wages. Some of them sleep in their cars and shower at the park before starting their shifts. A coalition of unions, including AFM Local 7 (Orange County, CA), have been hard at work shining a light on this intolerable situation. To learn more, see the article by AFM Local 7 President Bob Sanders on page 12 in this issue of the IM.

Membership

AFM membership numbers continue to decline. At year end 2016 we had 69,386 members and at year end 2017 we had 67,540 (excluding multiple memberships). This represents a decline of 1,846 members. Declining membership remains a serious challenge. The more members we lose, the weaker we become as a union. Declining density has a direct correlation to diminishing power in the workplace. We must build our membership, if we are to remain healthy and strong. Resolution No. 1, adopted by the 2016 AFM Convention delegates states:

“… That the AFM implements and makes available an officer training program with the focus on membership retention and recruitment as well as general office procedures, as a means of combating declining Federation membership.”

The officer training program has begun its second year. Judging from exit survey responses, those who have participated in the training give it high marks. It’s too early to tell if the training program will have the desired positive effect on our membership numbers. Much of the results will depend on training participants putting into practice what they have learned from the program.

Purchase of a Floor for AFM Office

After months of negotiations with the seller of a floor within a building in lower Manhattan, the deal has fallen apart. We were very close, but at the eleventh hour, the seller walked. There are currently no other floors available for purchase in lower Manhattan that meet our space requirements. Purchasing space in midtown Manhattan is not an option due to the high prices. As you might imagine, this is very disappointing for both AFM President Ray Hair and me. We are exploring the possibility of leasing space in our current building (but on a different floor) or leasing space in another building. Our current lease expires January 2019.

Lester Petrillo Fund

A total of 48 recipients received a distribution from the Lester Petrillo Fund in 2017. These distributions totaled $20,025.

Hurricane Relief Fund

The Hurricane Relief Fund (for hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria) received $27,252.55 in PayPal donations, less $904.54 in PayPal fees, leaving $26,348.01. An additional $13,665 in check donations was received, bringing total contributions available for disbursement to $40,013.01. Disbursements to applicants in 2017 totaled $7,000. We continue to receive additional applications for hurricane relief and will continue to make disbursements in 2018.

Upcoming LCC/PCC Meeting

The Locals Conferences Council/Player Conferences Council (LCC/PCC) meeting will take place Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17, at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas.

2019 AFM Convention

The AFM Convention will take place next year (2019) at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas. Registration will begin Sunday, June 16, 2019 and the Convention will adjourn Thursday, June 20, 2019.

Locals Conference Council
Recent News

LCC-PCC: Where the Conferences Converge!

by Jonathan Ferrone, AFM Assistant Secretary

In the years when there is no AFM Convention, the Federation hosts the Locals Conference Council (LCC) and Players’ Conference Council (PCC). Taking place at the same venue and at the same time of year as the 100th Convention last year, the LCC-PCC affords delegates from both councils the opportunity to exchange information and ideas on appropriate subjects regarding the good and welfare of the AFM, its locals, and its members. In short, it allows these diverse constituencies the opportunity to hold the AFM accountable.

Since I was a local officer at this time in 2016 and I was never a conference delegate, this was my first LCC-PCC. Represented in the 2017 LCC-PCC were the Professional Musicians of California, Canadian, Eastern, Illinois State, Mid America, Mid-States, New England, New Jersey State, New York State, Southern, Professional Musicians of Texas, and Western locals conferences, as well as the five players’ conferences: International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM), Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA), Recording Musicians Association (RMA), and Theater Musicians Association (TMA). The delegates of the conferences are typically officers of the conference, who are elected in conformity with the bylaws of their conferences. 

Players’ Conference leadership at the LCC-PCC (L to R): ICSOM Chair Meredith Snow, OCSM President Robert Fraser, RMA President Marc Sazer,  TMA Vice President Paul Castillo, and ROPA President John Michael Smith.

In attendance from the AFM were executive officers and senior staff, as well as international representatives (IRs). Spread out across the US and Canada, with each servicing the locals in their respective territories, the IRs are often the first line of communication between the AFM and its members. 

Essentially a weekend conference, the first day of the LCC-PCC started out with reports from AFM officers and department directors. AFM President Ray Hair spoke about the general status of the AFM since the convention, current and pending contract negotiations that he is involved with, and the long-term stability of the AFM going forward. AFM Vice President Bruce Fife discussed the recently initiated local officer training program, while Vice President from Canada Alan Willaert gave an update of AFM matters north of the border. AFM Secretary-Treasurer Jay Blumenthal presented a financial and statistical report, and talked about the International Musician Editorial Board. Following departmental reports, representatives of the AFM Employers’ Pension Fund gave a pension presentation.

In the afternoon, the delegates met as councils to formulate topics that they wished to discuss and questions that they wanted to ask. Each conference, of course, brought with it its own unique attributes and needs. As per the AFM Bylaws, the first order of business is to elect an LCC Chair. This year it was Local 7 (Orange County, CA) Secretary Tammy Noreyko, who is also secretary of the Western Conference. 

Locals Conference Council

(L to R) are AFM International Representatives Wally Malone (Western Territory), Cass Acosta (Southeast Territory), Allistair Elliott (All of Canada), and Gene Tournour (Northeast Territory).

On the second day, the LCC and PCC met with AFM officers and staff. Topics of discussion included touring and traveling issues, organizing and membership recruitment, suggestions and ideas for afm.org, and questions about the pension fund. Perhaps the most significant and possibly most overlooked detail about this event is that it is likely the only time these delegates and AFM representatives will all be together outside of a convention. I was struck by the level of knowledge and professionalism of the delegates, and by the smooth discourse between the AFM representatives and the delegates about their respective concerns.

In conclusion, this event was a very successful show of solidarity between several different constituencies within the AFM. I would like to thank all who helped to make this a meaningful event.  See you next year, delegates!