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.

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Home » Recent News » Tobacco Workers Face Deplorable Conditions


Tobacco Workers Face Deplorable Conditions

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This summer Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) toured North Carolina’s tobacco farms with a delegation that included members of Britain’s parliament and Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) President Blademar Velásquez.  Velásquez, who has been fighting for farm worker rights for more than 35 years, is appealing to elected officials and community leaders to pressure tobacco producers R.J. Reynolds and British American Tobacco (BAT) to stop practices of labor trafficking, pay workers a decent wage, and provide humane living conditions.

Here’s an excerpt of what Kaptur wrote about her visit in a column for The Nation: … “I found workers who labor 11 hours a day, under grueling conditions, at high season for $7.25 an hour. As Many as 12 men sleep jammed inside ramshackle, dilapidated trailers or barracks. There is no hot water, no decent laundry facilities, no air conditioning, substandard electrical and gas wiring, and flush toilets are a luxury … I heard women testify of the sexual abuse they face to secure work and pay, but still they and their children live in squalor in the richest nation in the world.”







NEWS