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.
Last month, 500 pilots for WestJet Airlines’ regional carrier, Encore, formally joined the Air Line Pilots Association, selecting the organization as its bargaining representative.
In a statement, WestJet, which once took pride in its nonunion corporate culture, said, “we are disappointed by this outcome.”
The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office certified 250,327 signatures of registered voters, 78% more than what was required to put the question of “right to work” on the ballot in November 2018.
The measure proposed aims to ban the collection of union dues as a condition of employment. With less than 10% of Missouri wage earners in a union, the law would hurt nonunion workers far more than union members.
“Just the name ‘right to work’ is a lie,” says Western Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council Business Manager Tim Bell. “Federal law already protects workers from being forced to join a union. This is just a cash-grab, trying to take money out of the pockets of working people in Missouri.”
In 1978, when the right to work question was last on the ballot, 60% of Missouri voters gave an emphatic no.
