On August 11, union officials, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Boilermakers International President Newton B. Jones, and AFM Legislative-Political and Diversity Director Alfonso Pollard, celebrated the opening of the Bank of Labor office in Washington, DC. Jones, who is also the bank’s chairman and CEO, dedicated the new office to former Boilermakers International President Joe Franklin, who served the union from 1908 to 1944, and led the effort to form the Brotherhood State Bank, the forerunner to the Bank of Labor. Several AFM musicians performed at the opening ceremony.
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Writers Guild Accuses ITV of Violating Federal Labor Law
Almost five years after ITV’s Kirkstall Road Enterprises employees in favor of Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) representation, they still do not have a contract with the union. The WGAE states: “the company has engaged in bad-faith bargaining since that time in an effort to thwart its employees’ decision to unionize.” The National Labor Relations Board is investigation several charges against ITV. In a previous settlement with the NLRB the company agreed to provide the guild with information about the company’s health plan, as well as to advice employees that it would not interfere with their right to unionize.
“We are pleased the company has notified employees it will not violate their right to union representation,” a statement from WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson says. “We look forward to receiving the health benefits information we are entitled to review under the law. We remain utterly mystified that a giant multinational media corporation like ITV continues to engage in legalistic maneuvers to avoid negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.”
In the past few years, WGAE has made organizing reality TV a priority.
NBCUniversal Go to Trial Over Age Discrimination Claim
A trial is scheduled for November 2 to determine if former investigative reporter Frank Snepp was fired due to age discrimination. Snepp’s career as an investigative journalist began following a stint as a CIA analyst. However, Snepp made the news in 1980 when a landmark Supreme Court ruling upheld his confidentiality obligations with US Government over his First Amendment rights as a whistleblower in regards to his Vietnam-focused book Decent Interval. As an investigative reporter, his award-winning stories covered breaking news about the Iran Contra scandal, Monica Lewinski, SEAL Team 6, and more. In 2006 he was hired by LA’s KNBC as a field producer, two years later re-hired as a content producer, then fired in 2012, at age 69. Snepp has submitted evidence of ageist statements from NBC that he should quit or retire because of his age. NBC claims he was fired for inadequate performance.
Do EU Listeners Pay for Music?
A new European Commission report showed that 60% of nearly 27,000 European consumers surveyed early this year had either streamed or downloaded music in the past 12 months, but they are paying for music at relatively low rates. While nearly two in three people use the Internet in Europe to access music, but less than a third of those people (17%) paid. Growth in global recorded music revenue has been fairly flat in recent years mostly because of free, legal music, rather than piracy, one article in Billboard contends.
British Songwriters Take Legal Action Against SoundCloud
According to Variety, PRS for Music, a British songwriter agency, has initiated legal action against music streaming site SoundCloud amid claims that the service is not paying royalties and securing licenses from its artists. A letter to the group’s members stated that the action follows five years of unsuccessful negotiations. A SoundCloud spokesperson told Variety that the service is “working hard to create a platform where all creators can be paid for their work, and already have deals in place with thousands of copyright owners, including record labels, publishers, and independent artists.”
Labor Day Celebrates Working Families
Labor Day should be a celebration of the achievements of American workers that also recognizes the strength of working families who join together to fight for living fair wages. Visit the website: http://labor-day-2015.hq.afl-cio.serenity-v1.aflcio.org/#!/events to find an event near you.
Ontario Public Service Union Calls for End to Work Stoppage
CarePartners workers, members of The Ontario Public Service Employers Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) in Canada, have been on strike for four months trying to negotiate a new pay structure and improved sick time and health and safety provisions. Previously, home care was provided by salaried employees who worked for nonprofit organizations. Then, the 100% taxpayer-funded Community Care Access Centres (CCAC) put home care out to competitive bidding from for-profit companies. The cheapest bid won, and the winners drove down their costs by suppressing wages and benefits. Regional CCAC nurses are now paid per visit, not per hour, and many of them are no longer earning even minimum wage. They also have no sick days or compensation for overtime. Meanwhile, the owners of CarePartners set themselves up with high salaries and fancy offices.
The result, according to OPSEU President Warren Thomas, is “patients are receiving poorer care and healthcare professionals are seeing good jobs destroyed. In a statement released last week, Thomas called on the provincial government to take action. “Using taxpayer dollars to prolong legal work stoppages is not only a waste of money but belies any claim that this Liberal government is progressive towards the needs of our most fragile citizens and our skilled healthcare workers, the vast majority of whom are women,” he says.
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.”
Americana Music Association Announces Lifetime Achievement Honorees
This year’s Americana Music Association Awards will be held September 16 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Among the honorees will be the songwriting duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, members of Local 257 (Nashville, TN), who will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement award for songwriting. Ricky Skaggs, also a Local 257 member, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award as an Instrumentalist. The Lifetime Achievement in Performance will go to Los Lobos, members of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA). These musicians will be among the performers at the annual honors and awards ceremony, which will be taped to air on PBS later this year.
“These artists have not only influenced the Americana community, but the musical landscape on the whole,” says Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. “They all have been an inspiration to our community and we are humbled they will honor us in song at the Ryman this fall.
The award show is part of the 16th Annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, which will take place September 15-20 in Nashville.
Animation Companies Sued for Wage-Fixing
According to Variety, a federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Walt Disney Company, Dreamworks Animation, Sony ImageWorks, and other companies alleging they violated antitrust laws by conspiring to set animation wages through nonpoaching agreements. The suit was filed by three former animation employees at Rhythm & Hues, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and ImageMovers Digital who contend that the antipoaching agreements began in the mid-1980s, when George Lucas and Pixar President Ed Catmull agreed to not raid each other’s employees. Other companies later joined in. Among other things, companies routinely notified each other when making an offer to an employee of another company.