Tag Archives: updates

Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

Update on Coronavirus Response, Reports, Conferences, the 2019 Audit

Without question, the COVID-19 crisis has created the most serious challenge to AFM members in our 124-year history. Essentially, live music has temporarily ceased due to social distancing and shelter-in-place rules. As a union, we have been working tirelessly to help mitigate the myriad of challenges we face today. We have had success in Washington, DC making sure our advocacy for musicians produces real results. The coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency provisions expand unemployment insurance to include “gig workers” and freelance musicians in addition to W-2 and 1099 employment. There are supplemental payouts up to $600 in addition to the state benefit. Also, there is extended benefit coverage up to an additional 13 weeks and a waiver of the one-week waiting period before collecting your benefit.

As you know by now, all AFM offices are temporarily closed due to governmental directives and our desire to protect the health and safety of AFM members and staff. Most AFM staffers are working remotely and are able to respond to questions by email. An email address list of AFM staff can be found by way of a link on the AFM.org website homepage.

Annual Report

The AFM 2019 Annual Report will soon be available on the AFM.org website for review and download. I will have an email blast sent to members as soon as it is ready to view. After it is posted, go to the Document Library/Financial Documents and Annual Report folder and look for the 2019 Annual Report. In the past, the AFM annual report has been printed, however, the delegates to the 2019 AFM Convention voted to print the annual report only in convention years. This represents a savings of the cost for printing, shipping, and mailing in two of the three years between conventions.

The 2019 Annual Report includes the international president, vice president from Canada, and secretary-treasurer’s officer reports, as well as reports from several AFM staff members. It also contains the recently audited 2019 financial statements and the International Executive Board 2019 meeting minutes. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.

AFM Conference CHANGES!

As of this writing, there have been some changes to the AFM regional conference schedule. The Eastern Conference has been rescheduled to take place April 17 through 18, 2021 in King of Prussia, PA. The Locals’ Conferences Council/Player Conferences Council (LCC/PCC) meeting has been rescheduled to take place October 17 through 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, NV (Westgate Hotel). The Canadian Conference has been postponed, with new dates to be announced. Future date changes will be posted on
AFM.org. Click on the Document Library tab and then the Conferences folder.

AFM Bylaws books and List of Locals booklets

The AFM bylaws books and List of Locals booklets were mailed to all local affiliates. The French language AFM bylaws were mailed to the appropriate Canadian locals. If your local has not received your copies, please let us know by emailing a message to the AFM Secretary-Treasurer’s Office.

LM Reports

For those locals that have a calendar fiscal year (January 1 through December 31), your LM report should have been uploaded to the Department of Labor site. The deadline was 90 days from the close of your fiscal year (This year March 30 was the due date—2020 being a leap year). Your latest local constitution and bylaws should have been uploaded as well.

AFM Audit

The annual AFM audit is well underway. While it appears we will have a surplus for 2019, there are many unknowns for 2020. The coronavirus (COVID-19) governmental directives are having a severe economic impact on musicians, locals, and the Federation. In anticipation of the economic fallout, we are monitoring our affected revenue streams and doing our best to manage expenses. We will remain vigilant during these challenging times.

We wish continued good health for all AFM members. Be smart—stay safe, wash hands frequently, practice social distancing, and use good sense if you must leave your home.

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.