We’ll Be Back After This Commercial Break …

March 1, 2026

Ken Shirk  -  AFM International Secretary-Treasurer

If you experience most of life today through your phone or your computer as I do, you will inevitably come across hackers, scammers, phishers, ID thieves, ransomware demands, sneaky links, malicious sites, and the like. I am pretty careful about all of these web-dwelling hazards. For my personal accounts, I signed up for Malwarebytes’ free scanning and Protonmail’s free VPN. But the tricks and gimmicks are getting increasingly sophisticated, and more than once (but less than five times) I’ve found myself halfway into a trap before I wake up and recognize it for what it is and quickly back out. So, I recently decided to go for broke and purchased a two-year subscription to Malwarebytes’ more complete internet security package.

With my new subscription allowing me the unfettered feeling of smugness and righteousness, I opened up my AFM email on a recent morning and discovered that Union Plus, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is now offering US union members an ID protection program with more stuff than I subscribed to for less money than I paid, and which also comes with ID theft insurance ranging from $1 million to $5 million.

I don’t like being a shill for commercial enterprises, but sometimes even shills serve a useful purpose. Union Plus has partnered with Aura to launch ID Protection Plus, providing union members comprehensive ID protection at discounted members-only rates. By integrating identity protection, financial monitoring, and family safety into one consolidated interface, the program ensures union members’ tech and assets remain secure. Aura is provided through Securus Identity Solutions, LLC, located in Minnesota, and is rated the Best Identity Protection Service by US News & World Report.

Union members must enroll through the dedicated page to receive the discounted rates. Program information is available at UnionPlus.org/idprotection, featuring a dedicated page outlining the ID Protection Plus Program and its benefits.

As long as I’m engaged in shilling, I’d like to remind the US members that significant cellular discounts are available from AT&T for union members through the Union Plus AT&T Signature Program. The program offers savings of $10 per line, per month on the AT&T Unlimited Premium PL plan, up to $50 savings on activation and upgrade fees, 15% off qualified wireless plans, and 20% discount on eligible accessories. Visit unionplus.org/att.

And not wanting to be solely US-centric, Canadian members can find deep discounts for cellular service from Rogers, Telus, and Bell by navigating to unionsavings.ca/en/categories/mobile-phone-plans.

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The 103rd International Convention of the American Federation of Musicians of the US and Canada is just around the corner, to be held in Ottawa, Ontario, starting on June 20.

Unlike many other international unions, the AFM’s convention is truly a working convention. The local union delegates to the convention attend for four full days in the spirit of service to the membership. It is this triennial gathering that sets the stage for our union over the following three years, and the delegates approach it with the same sense of purpose as any musician does with practicing—something to be focused on seriously if there’s to be any improvement.

You will find in this and previous issues of International Musician detailed information for delegates pertaining to Ottawa hotels and rates, funding, candidacies, and the ever-popular section on how to properly submit a resolution for consideration by the convention.

What you will not see in the notice, however, is that any AFM member is welcome to attend the convention, at their own expense, as a guest observer. Guests are welcome to attend the regular sessions as well as the special events and preconvention gala on the eve of the convention, June 19, and, most importantly, guests also qualify for the swag bag.

If you are not a delegate but wish to experience a convention in the capital city of Canada during a particularly nice time of the year, contact your local and ask to be added to the local’s convention guest list. Hotel reservation information is in the convention notice on page 21, as well as online at AFM.org/convention.

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