Tag Archives: solidarity

Officer Columns, Vice President from Canada

Low Friends in High Places—How Union Solidarity and Lobbying Helped Get Political Support for Canadian Musicians

March 1, 2021 Alan Willaert

When the pandemic effectively demolished live music in mid-March of last year, the AFM Canadian Office immediately dispatched letters to whomever in government was in a position to be of assistance, as identified with the aid of our knowledgeable lobbyist, Isabel Metcalfe. While I’m sure our plea to recognize the severity of the situation did not fall upon deaf ears, I can only imagine how many similar documents were received from a variety of sectors. How, then, to stand out in the crowd?

It was only a day or two later that I received a communication from IATSE International Vice President and Director of Canadian Affairs John Lewis, as well as Arden Ryshpan, executive director at Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA). The plan was to form a coalition to brainstorm and lobby government, framed within these strange circumstances. Added soon after was Ken MacKenzie, president of the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC). A decision was made to keep the coalition small and nimble, yet the combination now represented 50,000 members—a significant enough number to attract attention. Our noble group was dubbed the Creative Industries Coalition, and almost immediately had an effect.

We began gathering data on just how many performers and crews were idle, as government loves to have arithmetic for backup evidence. It was not difficult to demonstrate the level of despair in our members, as the cancelled contracts quickly tallied into the millions of dollars. In support of the submissions, Zoom calls were arranged with Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough, among others. Similar virtual meetings took place with folks like Simon Brault, chair of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

Results were favourable and speedy, as the government soon announced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), designed specifically for the self-employed and others who would normally not qualify for relief under the federal Employment Insurance programme. Two thousand dollars per month was made available to those who applied. However, a glitch soon emerged, whereby one of the criteria was that any ancillary income would result in the claim being disallowed. Now, for musicians (and other performers) who may have had random cheques arrive for royalties and New Use, or were teaching a few students, this was devastating. The coalition organized another round of calls, explained the issue, and was successful in having the requirement amended.

As the spring came to an end, it became apparent that COVID was going nowhere, and, in fact, was worsening, thus necessitating some additional meetings for a CERB extension, which was successful. By then, the government had sufficient time to temporarily restructure the Employment Insurance to include the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), along with some additional tweaks, which made that universal programme available to the self-employed. The timeline was limited, however, with expiration in early summer.

Sometimes nothing is simple, and so was the case when the government suddenly imposed new criteria—that the $5,000 earning threshold was net, not gross. This would have had a debilitating effect on musicians, since expenses are often high as well as tax-deductible. The bottom line: Many performers from all disciplines would have had to pay back the subsidy. Once again, our coalition made submissions and arranged meetings to object to that decision, especially since that condition had not been specified in the rules. This time we were joined by our friends at The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), as their membership was critically affected as well.

As I write this, an announcement is being made by Carla Qualtrough which reverses the government restriction, due to their error in not being clear about gross versus net. Those who received the subsidy will not be required to pay any back, providing the other qualifications are met.

So what is my point in rehashing all this? By maintaining solidarity with the other performers’ unions, we became stronger together and the difficult situation for performers was acknowledged and addressed relatively quickly. While our coalition may have not been the only voice, we have heard from insiders that ours was both the most respected and effective behind being granted the necessary support in a timely manner.

As musicians, solidarity is even more important within our own union. As we have proven time and again with both government and employers, one voice is simply ignored, while many voices command attention. Now more than ever, value your AFM membership; it brings strength through unity, and it’s the right thing to do.

Petits amis hauts placés — comment la solidarité syndicale et les pressions ont contribué à obtenir du soutien politique pour les musiciens canadiens

par Alan Willaert, vice-président de la FAM pour le Canada

Lorsque la pandémie a terrassé le marché de la musique vivante à la mi-mars l’année dernière, le Bureau canadien de la FAM a immédiatement fait parvenir des lettres à toutes les personnes au gouvernement qui étaient en position de nous aider — notre bien informée représentante, Isabel Metcalfe, nous a été d’une aide précieuse à cet égard. Bien que nos appels à reconnaître la gravité de la situation ne soient sûrement pas tombés dans des oreilles de sourds, je ne peux qu’imaginer combien de documents similaires ont été envoyés aux mêmes personnes par toute une variété de secteurs. Comment, donc, pouvions-nous ressortir du lot ?

Ce n’est qu’un jour ou deux plus tard que j’ai reçu une communication du vice-président international et directeur des affaires canadiennes de l’IATSE, John Lewis, de même que d’Arden Ryshpan, directrice exécutive de la Canadian Actors Equity Association. Le plan consistait à former une coalition pour brasser des idées et exercer des pressions auprès du gouvernement dans le cadre de ces étranges circonstances. Peu après s’est ajouté Ken MacKenzie, président de l’Association des désigners canadiens. Nous avons pris la décision de nous en tenir là afin que la coalition reste agile, d’ailleurs nous représentions déjà quelque 50 000 membres, certainement un assez grand nombre pour attirer l’attention. Notre noble groupe, que nous avons appelé la Coalition des industries créatives, a eu un effet presque immédiat.

Nous avons commencé à recueillir des données quant au nombre d’artistes et d’équipes techniques qui étaient sans travail, car le gouvernement aime beaucoup justifier ses intervention avec des chiffres. Il n’a pas été difficile de démontrer la détresse de nos membres puisque les contrats annulés que nous avons retracés ont vite atteint les millions de dollars. En complément de nos soumissions au gouvernement, il y a eu des appels sur Zoom avec Steven Guilbeault, ministre du Patrimoine canadien, et Carla Qualtrough, ministre de l’Emploi, du Développement de la main-d’œuvre et de l’Inclusion des personnes handicapées, entre autres. Des rencontres virtuelles similaires ont également eu lieu avec Simon Brault, président de la Conférence canadienne des arts.

Nous avons rapidement obtenu des résultats positifs, le gouvernement annonçant peu après la mise en œuvre de la Prestation canadienne d’urgence (PCU), conçue spécifiquement pour les travailleurs autonomes et les autres qui ne sont pas normalement admissibles au programme fédéral d’assurance-emploi. On donnait deux mille dollars par mois à ceux qui en faisaient la demande. Toutefois, un problème s’est présenté, car selon un des critères du programme, tout revenu d’appoint entraînait le refus de la demande. Pour les musiciens et les autres artistes de la scène qui reçoivent de temps à autre des paiements de droits d’auteur, pour de nouvelles utilisations ou qui font un peu d’enseignement, c’était catastrophique. La coalition a organisé une nouvelle ronde d’appels pour expliquer l’enjeu et a réussi à faire modifier ce critère.

À la fin du printemps, il est devenu clair que la COVID n’allait pas disparaître de sitôt, elle s’aggravait même, d’où la nécessité de réunions supplémentaires pour obtenir le prolongement de la PCU, qui a été accordé. Rendu là, le gouvernement avait eu le temps de restructurer l’assurance-emploi de façon temporaire pour y inclure la Prestation canadienne de la reprise économique (PCRE) et faire quelques autres ajustements qui permettraient aux travailleurs autonomes d’avoir accès à ce programme universel. Toutefois, ces dispositions devaient prendre fin au début de l’été.

Les choses ne sont pas toujours simples, comme lorsque le gouvernement a soudainement imposé de nouveaux critères, notamment en précisant que le seuil de revenu de 5000 $ devait être net et non brut. C’eût été débilitant pour les musiciens, parce que leurs dépenses sont souvent élevées et déductibles de l’impôt. En bout de ligne, beaucoup d’artistes de la scène de toutes les disciplines auraient eu à rembourser leurs prestations. Encore une fois, notre coalition a fait des représentations et organisé des rencontres afin de s’opposer à cette décision, surtout que ladite condition ne figurait pas dans les règles d’admissibilité. Cette fois, nos amis de l’Alliance des artistes canadiens du cinéma, de la télévision et de la radio, mieux connus comme l’ACTRA, se sont joints à nous, car leurs membres auraient été gravement affectés eux aussi.

Au moment d’écrire ces lignes, Carla Qualtrough annonce le retrait de cette restriction en reconnaissance du manque de clarté des règles d’origine à ce sujet. Ceux qui ont reçu la PCU ou la PCRE n’auront pas à la rembourser en autant qu’ils répondent aux autres critères d’admissibilité.

Pourquoi est-ce que je rappelle tout ça ? Pour illustrer que lorsque nous sommes solidaires entre syndicats d’artistes, nous sommes plus forts. Notre situation difficile commune a été reconnue et traitée plutôt rapidement. Notre coalition n’a peut-être pas été la seule voix à se faire entendre, mais d’après les commentaires que nous avons reçus d’acteurs au sein de l’appareil gouvernemental, la nôtre était à la fois la plus respectée et la plus effective pour obtenir en temps opportun le soutien dont nous avions besoin.

Comme musiciens, la solidarité est encore plus importante au sein de notre propre syndicat. Comme nous l’avons démontré encore et encore, avec le gouvernement et avec les employeurs, on ignore facilement une voix unique tandis que plusieurs voix retiennent l’attention. Maintenant plus que jamais, appréciez la valeur de votre adhésion à la FAM; elle est source de force de par l’unité qu’elle représente. Rester membre, c’est la chose à faire.

The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds Stands United with IATSE Local One Stagehands in Metropolitan Opera Lockout

December 31, 2020 IM

In response to the lockout by the Metropolitan Opera against Local One stagehands, members of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) issued the following statement on December 9:

As an affiliate of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local One stagehands do not stand alone in the lockout by the Metropolitan Opera. All of the affiliates—many of whom are facing the same draconian, long term wage and condition cuts from the Met Opera management—stand united with our sisters, brothers, and kin in Local One.

While workers are furloughed and waiting for live performances to safely return, the Metropolitan Opera has conditioned limited supplemental financial assistance on the unconscionable demand that workers accept 30% cuts in wages and less favorable working conditions, all of which would last well past the COVID pandemic and the return of live performances. In addition, stagehands were told they must accept this “deal” or be locked out of their employment, despite already being furloughed and unemployed.

New Yorkers pride ourselves on coming together in any crisis to help one another for the greater good. Stagehands are no different. As the COVID pandemic has brought live performances to a halt, we have seen stagehands use their skills to volunteer to help the greater NYC community. They are volunteering by building face shields for medical workers, assisting in making facemasks and PPE, and helping Encore Community Services to provide food assistance for those living in Hell’s Kitchen and the Theater District. All of this has been happening while these same members of the theatrical community face a lack of work, uncertainty about when work will return, unemployment assistance expiring, food insecurities, concerns about housing, and seeing friends, coworkers, and loved ones get ill or sadly succumb to the COVID virus.

Sadly, in contrast with the civic spirit of a resilient NYC and its people, the Metropolitan Opera is using this pandemic to its own benefit to lower worker pay and eliminate conditions at work for perpetuity under the guise of short-term financial assistance that may not even last until performances can once again reopen.

COBUG’s members understand and see the choice Local One stagehands are faced with and will stand together with them. To borrow a phrase from the NYC stagehands—“We are all One!”

In Solidarity,

Actors’ Equity Association
American Federation of Musicians, AFM
American Guild of Musical Artists
Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers, IATSE, Local 18032
Dramatists Guild of America
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. AFL-CIO, CLC
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 817
International Union of Operating Engineers. Local 30
Local 802 American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO
Mail Telephone Order Clerks, IATSE, Local B-751
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists, IATSE, Local 798
Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ
Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, SDC
Theatrical Protective Union, IATSE, Local One
Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local 764, IATSE
Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Union. IATSE. Local 751
United Scenic Artists, IATSE, Local USA 829
Ushers, Ticket Takers & Stagedoor Persons, IATSE, Local 306

Orchestra News

Solidarity with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Musicians Continues

September 1, 2019 IM

Orchestras throughout the US continue to don Baltimore Symphony Musicians T-shirts to express solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Local 40-543 who have been locked out by management for the past two months. Many of these orchestras have taken photos of themselves showing this support. Last month, we had photos of eight orchestras, this month we add three more: New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.

Symphonic Services Division

The Care and Feeding of Solidarity

July 25, 2019 IM

by Jane Owen, AFM Symphonic Services Division Negotiator

What does unity look like for an orchestra? To our public, we appear unified in our formal attire performing with unity of thought and action. As any musician who has attended an orchestra meeting can tell you, however, that unity is always a work in progress.

In its makeup, the orchestra is already divided into the groups of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion, as well as distinctions of those who are section musicians and those who hold principal or assistant/associate positions. In some orchestras, there are different tiers of contracts for members of the bargaining unit. Additionally, there are musicians of different age groups, gender, religion, and family configurations, and they all may bring different issues to the table. The challenge sometimes is to agree that we are in one union, and to find the collective path of bargaining to achieve the best outcome for the group as a whole.

This is a task which falls necessarily to the orchestra committee with the help of other union representatives in the group. We are reminded of the need for unity every time we are involved in a negotiation, especially in a difficult negotiation, but nurturing that unity is sometimes set aside in those years between negotiations. We’ve all been there; you want to take a break after a long negotiation, but this is not the time for a break. This is the time to get to work to maximize your power for the next negotiation. The more management sees the orchestra musicians communicating and working together, the more strength those musicians have at the bargaining table.

In the words of my colleague, AFM Negotiator/Organizer/Educator Todd Jelen, “We in SSD encourage orchestras and their committees to work with a negotiator during the last year of your contract to help with negotiation preparation, but internal organization with the musicians needs to be happening from day one of a new contract to ensure that the next negotiation can be as successful as possible.” Jelen observes that in addition to the basics of administering the CBA during the term, the following organizational tasks need to be done prior to the next negotiations:

• Discuss and evaluate objectives not achieved in the last negotiations.

• Organize new musicians through
orientations and discussion of
current/recurring issues.

• Track past and new issues in the workplace.

• Track importance of issues to musicians.

• Discuss and evaluate past
goals/strategic plan for musicians.

• Assert or re-assert goals/strategic plan of the musicians.

At the beginning of every season, all musicians must know who their orchestra committee representatives are and how to communicate with them. Identifying the union steward and members of other committees or liaisons to the management or board of directors is also important. This is especially true for new members, who may have only met management personnel in their introduction to the orchestra. Be sure your new colleagues know whom to go to with questions or problems, and that they know their Weingarten rights to have union representation in any meeting with management that could lead to discipline.

Communication with and connection to the local is critical as well. Some managements will try to divide the musicians from their local by requesting that the musicians negotiate without a union presence. While orchestra committee members act as agents of the local in the workplace, the agreement is between your local and management and they are the signatories. Therefore, involvement of the local is mandatory and crucial to the process. Be sure all musicians know who their local officers are and how to communicate with them. Encourage musicians to attend meetings of the local. Many orchestras have members who run for local leadership positions as officers or as board members. Unity of purpose is invaluable when bargaining.

Organizing requires two components: identifying key issues to the population and talking with our colleagues directly. This is much easier to do in our workplaces than in some others if we plan ahead. To encourage unity between negotiations, it is important to take reports back to the musicians after any important committee meeting with management, or after any resolutions of problems or grievances that occur.

Encourage musicians to come to the committee with concerns or questions. Maintaining regular communication makes it more likely that participation in surveys will be more complete when negotiations come around. As for those surveys before negotiations, try to ensure that all the musicians are heard. To achieve more complete participation for the pre-negotiation survey, some orchestras offer individual interviews by orchestra committee members with musicians to complete their surveys. Ongoing communication with other orchestras across the AFM through ICSOM, OCSM/OMOSC, and ROPA also promotes unity across the industry.

In order to approach a negotiation with focus, keep good records of goals not yet accomplished, document administrative challenges with the current agreement, and know the priorities of the musicians as seasons progress. Your power lies in that knowledge and the collective support for those goals.

Symphonic Services Division

Symphonic Organizing, Solidarity and Inclusion

July 18, 2019 IM

by Rochelle Skolnick, AFM Symphonic Services Division Director

Welcome to the symphonic focus issue of the International Musician for 2019! This issue shines a spotlight on the musicians of the Boise Philharmonic—our newest AFM orchestra—and the successful organizing drive that will give them a meaningful voice and a new level of professionalism in their workplace. The musicians of the Newfoundland Symphony, motivated by similar concerns, have also joined together with the AFM and, as Richard Sandals (associate director, SSD Canada) reports, will be working under their first-ever true collective agreement during the 2019-2020 season. What happened in Boise and Newfoundland is inspirational. It is also emblematic of the AFM’s renewed commitment to organizing and demonstrates our capacity to support musicians who choose to stand together in pursuit of greater dignity in their workplaces.

One of the great challenges we face as unionists in the symphonic sector is developing and maintaining solidarity within our orchestras. Solidarity—or unity of purpose based on shared needs and interests—doesn’t just materialize, and it doesn’t spontaneously regenerate itself. Rather, it must be mindfully cultivated through one-on-one interactions and nurtured with liberal doses of empathy. There is no shortcut to solidarity. We can’t make common cause with our colleagues when we don’t know their concerns and they don’t know ours. In the absence of genuine knowledge about the people with whom we share the stage, we may be reduced to relying on unhelpful stereotypes or assumptions that not only fail to support solidarity, but actively undermine it.

Each orchestra has a unique sound and culture of musicianship that is the product of decades of work together. I am vividly reminded of that every time I hear an orchestra perform: The Philadelphia Orchestra does not sound like the New York Philharmonic, which does not sound like the Chicago Symphony, which does not sound like the LA Philharmonic … and on and on …

When a musician is hired into an orchestra, we expect s/he will honor that musical culture by fitting in and playing in a way that carries on those venerable musical traditions. But as orchestras become more diverse, it is important to consider whether embedded within our institutional cultures are obstacles to full participation in the extra-musical life of the collective by musicians whose backgrounds may be quite different from those of their colleagues. And it is even more important to consider the multitude of qualities these diverse musicians bring to our institutions and how their engagement can strengthen and invigorate the collective.

I am sometimes asked why the union is involved in the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion. After all, shouldn’t our focus be on bargaining and enforcing our CBAs with employers and not on the composition of our bargaining units or how well musicians get along with each other? That view misunderstands collective action and the mechanisms by which we attain success in bargaining and contract enforcement. As others write so well in this issue, success in bargaining depends entirely on solidarity and organization, which depends, in turn, on communication, understanding, and shared purpose among all members of a bargaining unit. If we aren’t engaging some, the strength of the entire collective suffers.

A well-organized orchestra is one in which every musician has a voice and knows s/he is a valued member of the collective. Many orchestras fall short of this arguably utopian vision. I would venture to guess that in every one of our orchestras there are individuals or groups of musicians who do not participate in committee work, do not attend meetings, and, in states where the law allows it, are not even members of the AFM. If we are to build solidarity, we must ask ourselves—and them—why these musicians have chosen not to get involved.

Where this lack of participation occurs along the fault lines of race, gender, national origin, or some other clearly identifiable characteristic of the non-participating musician, the question takes on a special urgency. It is facile to dismiss lack of participation as an expression of a given individual’s “culture,” and doing so places the onus entirely on the “other” musician to assimilate. True solidarity requires us to dig deeper and locate the common ground that undoubtedly exists among musicians, regardless of cultural differences.

As musicians, we know how to listen to each other with keen attention in rehearsal and performance. These are skills we have honed through ear training, ensemble playing, and years of practice. When we bring a similar focus to our conversations with colleagues, we set the stage to advance both inclusion and solidarity.

Organizing

Solidarity Is the Heart and Soul of a Strong Union

July 1, 2019 IM

by Meredith Snow, ICSOM Chair and Member of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA)

As our Pension Fund heads into critical and declining status, it is important to remember that many multi-employer pensions in America are in the same boat. Public-sector state and local government pensions are in even worse shape. Hindsight is 20/20—if it were possible to turn the clock back 50 years, knowing what we do today, we would be looking at a different financial landscape.

As far back as the early 1970s, raises to our benefit multiplier—which looked reasonable at the time given actuarial assumptions and projected rate of return on investments—began to accelerate in the mid 1980s. Changes to the federal tax code, given actuarial assumptions and projected rate of return on investments, seemed to justify increasing the benefit multiplier all the way up to $4.65. Over the following decades, benefits paid out became increasingly greater than contributions.

Because of the steady drain on capital through benefit payments, the AFM-EPF never had a chance to right itself in the aftermath of the 2001 dot-com bust and the 2008 global financial crisis. We could have replaced every trustee, fired the plan employees, and moved to Omaha, but that would not have made a dent in the money-in/money-out imbalance, which is on a far larger scale than management expenses or investment fees. At this juncture, there is no feasible formula of investment returns plus contributions, allocated or not, that will return the fund to financial health. So here we are, along with millions of other Americans, with a pension plan that is turned on its head.

We have two options: drain it and allow the fund to collapse on the heads of our younger members—along with the solidarity of this union—or change the benefit payment through the only avenue available to us at this point in time: the Multi-Employer Pension Reform Act (MPRA). As painful as it is to accept, the only path to solvency is a restructuring of our benefits.

It is easy to forget that the pension trustees are not nine in number, but 18. Every decision made relative to the pension is a negotiation between the employer trustees and our union trustees, along with paid investment advisors and actuaries. Each Fund trustee undergoes fiduciary training on a regular basis, including accounting, actuarial, and investment studies, through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEPB).

Having served nearly 20 years in ICSOM, as delegate, member-at-large, and now chair, I have worked side by side with each of our union trustees in one capacity or another. I know them to be intelligent, capable, dedicated, honest people who have spent their lives in the service of others and of our union. I trust them to find the most equitable solutions available as they craft the application to the treasury department under the guidelines of the MPRA.

As required by MPRA, our trustees have appointed a retiree representative, Brad C. Eggen, currently president of the Twin Cities Musicians Union, Local 30-73. Eggen is charged with communicating with our retirees and terminated vested participants throughout the application and approval process under MPRA. He has taken this one step further in creating an Equitable Factors Panel, composed of four additional plan participants, to assist in communicating with our AFM membership. For more information, visit http://afmretireerep.org.

The financial woes of our AFM Employer Pension Fund have created a serious challenge to our union solidarity. It is understandable that the uncertainty of promised benefits has created apprehension and anger among our AFM-EPF participants. Sacrifices will be necessary. But we must not give in to the anger at the expense of our unity. Solidarity is the heart and soul of a strong union—it means that we see each other not as rivals or statistics, but as brothers and sisters.

We must recognize that the burden of sacrifice needs to be borne equitably by the entire membership. We need to make the pension whole so that our younger members are not unduly burdened nor discouraged entirely from union membership. By setting aside our fear and anxiety, acknowledging that we are in this together, we can maximize the potential for solutions that will preserve our pension, our union, and our solidarity.