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 » International Musician » Your Support Is Needed Now to Protect Our Pension Plan


Your Support Is Needed Now to Protect Our Pension Plan

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AFM-Employers Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) trustees urgently ask that each of you contact your member of Congress right away to express your support for a fix to our multiemployer pension plan through the Butch Lewis Act (S. 2147). Congress, specifically the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (JSC), is currently in the research stage, looking into language to fix troubled multiemployer pension plans. It is vitally important that they hear from each of you now. Be sure to include your story about how critical the plan is to you as a working musician.

As noted in the August International Musician (page 8-9), in formulating a plan of action to best mobilize our pension participants, the AFM-EPF recently launched a webpage to connect fund participants with their members of Congress, as well as with Joint Select Committee members.

To help us protect our pension plan we ask you to take the following two actions.

1) Tell your member of Congress how important your multiemployer pension plan is to you and that you support the Butch Lewis Act. Visit https://afm-epf.org/Congress.aspx where you can

  • learn about the Joint Select Committee
  • identify your members of Congress
  • plan what to say (language is posted for your
    convenience)
  • call your members of Congress
  • email your members of Congress and the JSC
  • schedule a meeting with your members of Congress in their district/home state offices

2) Register at https://afm-epf.org/Registration.aspx to receive the Pension Fund Notes newsletter, which includes regular updates on the progress of the congressionally mandated JSC.

It is important that multiemployer pension funds, participants, unions, and employers all present a united front in demanding a solution from the Joint Select Committee.

If you have not taken action or registered on the official AFM-EPF website, we urge you to do so today!  This will give you access to the latest activity while keeping you abreast of proposals and actions by the JSC. Acting on rumors coming from unofficial, non AFM-EPF sources relating to this critical legislative project can skew the official AFM message and have a very damaging effect on our goal to put you and your interests first. Thanks again for your support and for your AFM membership.







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