Tag Archives: president

Officer Columns, President's Message

Staff Additions — SSD Director, West Coast In-house Counsel

I am delighted to announce two important changes to Federation staff—one in our Symphonic Services Division (SSD) located in our headquarters office in Times Square, filling a vacancy left by the election of former Director Jay Blumenthal to the position of AFM Secretary-Treasurer, and another in our Electronic Media Services Division (EMSD) at the Federation’s West Coast Office in Hollywood. The staffing changes have resulted in the addition of two of the best minds and finest lawyers to be found in the field of union-side labor relations. They are Rochelle Skolnick and Russell Naymark.

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Officer Columns, President's Message

100th Convention Epilogue: The Quest for Fairness for Subs and Extras

A resolution that provoked considerable debate during the recently concluded 100th AFM Convention was Resolution 20—“Extras and Subs in Orchestras”—a measure which sought to address the disparity in wages and working conditions that exists in many orchestral collective bargaining agreements for substitute and extra musicians, as compared to those of their seasonally-contracted colleagues.

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Digital Content Market
Officer Columns, Vice President from Canada

The Global Digital Content Market

Being a newbie, sliding into my seat to listen to presentations on the global digital market in the main conference hall at WIPO headquarters in Geneva was like revisiting a university lecture hall. Except that, unlike a campus lecture, there were more than 1,000 registrations from 144 countries.

Now, on to what was learned. The creative industry represents more than 30 million jobs worldwide. The global music recording industry is worth US $15 billion. Revenue from digital sources grew to $6.8 billion and is now equal to those from physical sources, averaged across all markets. Yet, music is still in a state of flux as it struggles to adapt to the online era. Digital delivery decreases the cost of creating, distributing, and storing music, yet the remuneration to artists in this medium has not made up the difference from losses in physical sales.

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Organizing

Candidates Seeking Election for AFM Office

An important part of each AFM Convention is the nomination and election of international officers who will lead the organization during the next three years. Also elected are delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention. Article 19, Section 2 of the AFM Bylaws provides for the publication of campaign statements by those candidates who have declared their intent to run for office. No candidate is required to publish a statement and all candidates may at any time prior to nominations pursue an office other than the one identified below.

INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

Raymond M. Hair, Jr., Local 72-147 (Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX)

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your president with this marvelous Unity Team. We’ve restored and maintained fiscal responsibility. With openness, activism, and real unionism, we’re negotiating and enforcing smart, progressive agreements. Through governmental advocacy, we’ve protected musicians’ interests and improved their lives. We’ve opened doors and found new rights money for AFM members, who make the music the world wants to hear. Difficult problems resolve with teamwork and Unity. Working together, we can preserve and protect our union and keep it strong, because we are stronger together. We ask for your vote. We are a winning team.

INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT

Bruce Fife, Local 99 (Portland, OR) President

It’s been an honor to represent and serve you as vice president of the American Federation of Musicians. Our union must remain strong and consistent in its leadership, provide the tools and support for our locals to remain vibrant, organize, and build our membership, and continue to strive for successful outcomes in critical local, national, and international negotiations. While we have not won every campaign, our team remains strong and our victories noteworthy. I ask for your continued trust, support, and guidance as we move forward and work together to keep our union strong and adaptive in this evolving industry.

VICE PRESIDENT FROM CANADA

Mark Jamison, Local 149 (Toronto, ON)

Canadian AFM members want to undertake a consensus-based review of AFM Canada’s activities that will serve the needs and aspirations of Canadian musicians. I was trained and worked as a symphony bass player and have had a successful career as an association executive leading media, business, and cultural membership organizations. With the skills, knowledge, and management success that I offer, as VP AFM Canada, I will help members identify approaches to key 21st Century contractual, regulatory, and professional image challenges and opportunities. I appreciate the encouragement of many members across Canada. It would be a privilege to serve you.

Alan Willaert, Local 149

The challenges facing Canadian musicians, and those of us who represent them, have increased exponentially over the last few years. Status quo is no longer an option, and we have therefore served notice to bargain on several large employers in the broadcast world. While this action will undoubtedly increase employment opportunities for members, the additional work involved is substantial. It has been my honour to serve as vice president from Canada, and I’m asking for the opportunity to continue, face those employers across the table, and finish what we started.

INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER

Jay Blumenthal, Local 802 (New York City)

Like so many of you, my 41 years of AFM membership has played a central role in my career as a professional musician. Every dollar the Federation receives to advance our mission is tied in some way to the work that you do as a professional musician. That’s why the spending of union funds must improve the lives and protect the livelihoods of our members. Creating a financially stable AFM while fighting for justice in the workplace, building solidarity, and educating our membership will ensure a stronger union for current and future members.

INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD

John Acosta, Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) President

It is with great humility that I announce my candidacy for the AFM International Executive Board. For over a decade it has been an honor to serve the amazing musicians of our great union. Together we have fought on the street and at the bargaining table, and on the IEB I will continue the fight for improved economic conditions and better standards for all AFM members. It is an honor to be part of President Hair’s “Team Unity,” the stabilizing force that has rebuilt our AFM. Music is our passion! Now let’s put the same passion into our union!

Joe Boettger, Local 542 (Flint, MI) President

Joe Boettger, President of Local 542, Flint, Michigan, intends to run for an executive board member seat on the International Executive Board. He will be a voice for post-industrial and small locals. He will listen to all Local leadership and advocate continually for them at the international level. He has a pragmatism and fortitude developed from surviving in one of the most hostile labor and human environments currently in the United States. Canadian artists often work in his jurisdiction and he will advocate equally for their concerns. AFM needs a person of this vision and understanding on the IEB now.

Tino Gagliardi, Local 802 President

Having been a part of a union that continues to transform itself through honest and open discussion about the challenges we face is rewarding and has benefited our union over the past six years. This collaborative, comprehensive model contributes to our standing at the bargaining table and continues to address the financial and organizational challenges we face. Working on behalf of all musicians, it is this administration that continues to foster and promote this environment. Please support the Unity Team so we may continue to improve the standards for our members and strengthen our union.

Tina Morrison, Local 105 (Spokane, WA) Vice President

Our union changed directions by electing this administration and then re-electing our team. Stabilization came first with much accomplished via a complex network of activities setting foundations for new relationships and future income streams for musicians in this global economy. We’ve faced many challenges together, however there is more to do. Certain paths became labyrinths but the goals set forth by our mission statement continue to guide us forward. I would appreciate your vote so we can continue the work of making our union inclusive and relevant to all working musicians.

Joe Parente, Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) President

The last convention has given the Federation the tools to continue in the direction of improving the lives of all AFM members. The IEB has had to make difficult decisions in dealing with the problems we are all facing. With the confidence the last convention showed us, Team Unity will continue to represent our members in an effort to improve all of our lives as professional musicians. I am dedicated, as are all the Federation officers, to continuing to fight for the rights and welfare of all members of the AFM. I ask your support for re-election to the IEB.

Dave Pomeroy, Local 257 (Nashville, TN) President

It has been an honor to serve you as an IEB member for the past six years. I have been a working musician for nearly 40 years, and first got involved in AFM issues long ago because I saw a need for our union to “get real” and evolve with the times. It has not been easy, but the bottom line is that this team has made a real difference in how the AFM takes care of business for its members. We will always be stronger when we are united by our common goal of promoting respect for all musicians.  

George Troia, Jr., Local 5 (Detroit, MI) President

I, George Troia , Jr. announce my candidacy for a seat on the International Executive Board of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. I am grateful to have been blessed with a with a multi-faceted musical career over the past 50 years, full of experiences that I believe to be valuable to the direction of the Federation in this new century. My primary goal in union representation is, and will always be, making life better for musicians. I humbly ask you for your support in this endeavor.

Recent News

AFL-CIO President’s Message to Senate Republicans: Do Your Job

As President Obama prepares to nominate a new Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing, Republicans have vowed to block the nomination—even though they are constitutionally obligated to vote on the President’s appointment.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka urges members to sign an online petition holding Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republican leadership accountable to the people and allowing hearings to take place. Trumka says, “Senate Republicans are already planning obstruction. They say they will ignore the president’s nomination. Refuse to act on it.” In doing so, he says, the GOP is shirking their responsibilities. “This is an absolutely shameful, un-American position. And we cannot stand for it. I have one message for Senate Republicans: ‘Do your job.’ That’s what the American people who hired you expect you to do.”

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-senate-republicans-to-do-their-jobs-and-fill-the-supreme-court-vacancy

Recent News

Is Wall Street Afraid of Sanders?

Wall Street is in a panic at the thought of a President Bernie Sanders, claims Stephen Schwarzman of the private equity firm Blackstone. In an article in the Wall Street Journal he blamed recent global financial trauma on the “market’s fear” that Sanders could be elected. Schwarzman, who has been openly critical of President Obama’s proposals to end the “carried interest” tax, leads the effort to privatize Social Security and has a history of incendiary rhetoric. For example, when an employee was killed at SeaWorld (Blackstone’s largest investment), Schwarzman claimed the veteran animal trainer broke multiple safety rules before she was pulled into a tank and killed by an orca.

What does Wall Street have against Sanders? For one, Social Security. Furthermore, experts say, decades of lording over the economy have allowed Wall Street to design policies that almost guarantee the failure of any financial regulation, which would protect the middle class.

Dropkick Murphys Support Presidential Candidate O’Malley
Recent News

Dropkick Murphys Support Presidential Candidate O’Malley

Dropkick Murphys Support Presidential Candidate O’MalleyCeltic punk band Dropkick Murphys, members Local 9-535 (Boston, MA), announced their support and approval of Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley’s use of their hit song “Shipping Up to Boston.” They tweeted their approval of the former governor of Maryland’s candidacy saying he “stands up for working people.” Earlier this year Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker’s use of the same song brought the opposite reaction. “We literally hate you” the band tweeted to Walker. Dropkick Murphys version of the Woody Guthrie song first gained popularity as the theme music to Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.

Officer Columns, President's Message

Ground Zero, Subzero—Looking Back at 9/11

Note: This is a reprint of an article I wrote as President of Local 72-147 (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX) for our local newsletter 14 years ago—three weeks after the 9/11 disaster.

My travel to New York City to attend the October 3 opening of the AFM’s Pamphlet B negotiations had assumed an entirely different demeanor in the aftermath of the 9/11  attack.

The plane from DFW to La Guardia, a Boeing 757, was only 25% full. During the usual pre-takeoff announcements, the flight attendant stated: “failure to comply with crew member instructions is a federal crime.” I had never heard that before. I wondered if the plane had a sky marshal, and if so, where that marshal might be.

Three hours later, as the plane descended toward the city, we flew over the southeast corner of Manhattan and on over Long Island. After recognizing the familiar outlines of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, I looked to find Ground Zero from among the infinite jungle of skyscrapers as did everyone else. We could not see it.

On the ground, at La Guardia, customer density mirrored that of DFW, it was amazingly slow.

I was one of only two passengers on the airport bus from La Guardia to the Port Authority terminal. Before the bus entered the Midtown Tunnel, we slowed for the “checkpoint” but avoided the long line of cars being searched. We proceeded on, arriving at 42nd Street after a short 15-minute ride from the airport. It was definitely not the city I remembered.

I had clear and vivid memories of the city, and particularly the Times Square and Midtown Manhattan areas from the numerous trips I had made over the years as an AFM officer. I remember the energy and the dynamic of the town. On my way from the hotel to Local 802 (New York City) that afternoon, I could feel the change in vibe.

There was an overwhelming sense of sadness. Walking past FDNY Ladder Company Number 54, located at 48th Street and 8th Avenue, a block away from Local 802, I was struck cold by the array of flower arrangements, cards, signs, photos, and other memorials left by a grieving public in memory of the 14 union firefighters from that firehouse alone who had given their lives to save the thousands who escaped the Twin Towers disaster.

The executive board of Local 72-147 had convened the night before, on October 1, and resolved to donate $1,000 to Local 802’s relief fund to help members adversely affected by the tragedy. I met with the Local 802 board that afternoon and presented the donation.

Broadway theater musicians, in concert with union actors and stagehands, had voluntarily reduced their salaries by 25% in order to keep the houses from going dark. The reductions would last for four weeks. Two shows—Blast and Rocky Horror Picture Show—had closed.

“We were massacred,” said one musician, referring to the September 11 attack. I was beginning to understand the depth of the anger and depression that gripped the city, but it was not until I saw the remnants of the carnage itself that I was able to approach any sense or comprehension of the horror of it.

Local 5 (Detroit, MI) President Gordon Stump and I decided to try to visit Ground Zero on Wednesday, October 3, after the conclusion of the opening day of negotiations. “Take us as far as you can to Ground Zero,” I told the cab driver. We proceeded south a good long way until I could see what would be the first checkpoint that marked the 12-block perimeter.

Thick with US Marshals, State Police, and NYPD officers, the checkpoint stopped all traffic, letting through only residents, property owners, or employees. Gordon and I walked into a world that resembled an episode of The Outer Limits.

No traffic, no noise, very little pedestrian activity, people wearing masks to help them breathe, others with breathing apparatus hanging around their necks, who had obviously been working near the site.

It was an eerie scene. After we walked another six blocks or so, we came upon another series of checkpoints across which we could not pass. From there, we stood in silence and looked down the final four blocks to Ground Zero.

None of the photos or TV images could impart the graphic horror of the destruction that lay there in that place. The debris mound was several stories tall, from which the large cranes were removing smoldering rubble. The charred hull of one of the towers stood as a backdrop to the thousands of tons of wreckage. There, as we stood frozen and speechless, President Bush’s motorcade exited from a side street and sped away.

We had been there about 15 minutes when I noticed that I had begun to cough. Gordon’s eyes were burning. The air was a mix of smoke and dust, with a noticeable odor of concrete.

On the A train back to Times Square, I could overhear the residents talking with each other in snippets about the tragedy—discussions about friends who were still missing, what they had done, and where they had been to help. People were doing what they could to deal with their personal losses. You could see in their eyes the look of folks who had been forever changed. You could also see and feel their spirit and determination to rise above the sorrow.

That spirit and determination of the people of New York City is what I brought back from the opening meetings of our Pamphlet B negotiations, which will continue for quite some time. The employers have informed us that technology has recently become available that can almost perfectly replicate the sounds of an accompanying pit orchestra for the production of theatrical musicals. The Broadway League suggested that the technology would be used to break any impasse in the negotiations.

“We don’t need you,” said the League employers, referring to our attempts to blunt their efforts to impose reduced orchestrations with fewer musicians in major markets. Their attitude was more than cold. More like subzero.

Those employers, like the board of directors of The Dallas Opera, shamelessly used the events of September 11 to adopt a conservative economic stance toward professional musicians who bring such joy into the world, and at a time when the public needs it the most.

“We are all here because music has brought us here,” I told the employers on the third day of the Pamphlet B sessions, “and music is about man’s inhumanity to man. You have a responsibility to protect the livelihood of those of us who create it,” I said.

There are lessons to be learned from the resilient human spirit we see today in New York City, and that exists everywhere in this great country. “Triumph over tragedy” and “victory in the face of adversity” have been recurrent themes since the first caveman whittled a song flute from the carcass of a dead antelope.

Our music contains that spirit. It is what saves us.

Despite such coldness, we will find that spirit, as we always do, as we confront the producers and employers in New York City and here at home in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Recent News

Latin Grammy Leader Addresses Trump’s Comments

Following multiple Latino musicians who have spoken out against presidential candidate Donald Trump’s anti-Latino statements, Latin Recording Academy CEO Gabriel Abaroa Jr. issued a statement condemning the presidential candidate’s attacks on the Latino population. “Whether you’re talking about Mexico, South America, Central America, Spain, or Portugal, Latin culture has been so beautifully intertwined into American culture that it is almost imperceptible to recognize the benefits of that integration,” said Abaroa. “Nonetheless, we should not take for granted the countless contributions Latinos make to American culture. Given his recent statements, Mr. Trump needs a respectful reminder of that fact. This denial of Latino contributions and the division it will create cannot be tolerated, and we appeal to Mr. Trump to discontinue his affront on the millions of Latinos who have helped make America the great nation it is. Just as music brings people together, so, too, should those who aim to lead us.”

Recent News

Trump Not Free to Rock in the Free World

Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) member Neil Young decried Donald Trump’s use of his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as part of his presidential campaign announcement on Tuesday.

An official statement from Young read: “Donald Trump was not authorized to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in his presidential candidacy announcement. Neil Young, a Canadian citizen, is a supporter of Bernie Sanders for President of the United States of America.”

Young wrote the 1989 song as a critique of the George H. W. Bush Administration, and its lack of concern for the plight of America’s poor. Use of it by the billionaire conservative was a complete misrepresentation of the liberal song’s meaning.