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.
February 1, 2016
IM -As West Virginia’s Republican legislature announced its plan to introduce “right to work” for less legislation, the state’s leading newspaper denounced it. In a Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial the paper said, in part: “It might be good marketing by out-of-state political interests, but it’s not good policy. What is the problem that ‘right to work’ is supposed to cure? It appears to be having any union workers in the state at all. It sounds like a cure that is worse than the disease, a prescription to drive down wages everywhere and make it less likely that injured workers will report problems before they become fatalities. Who needs more of that?” Workplace deaths are 54% higher in “right to work” states, while employee earnings are $6,000 a year lower, and seven of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates are “right to work.”