April 2023 Newsletter

Dear Union Family,

This is our regular monthly email newsletter. It includes reminders, member news and important announcements from the Executive Board and the office.

News from the Executive Board

President’s Message

I love seeing all the posts and emails from our members announcing their spring and summer tours. Glad to see folks are out working and sharing the music.

I hope you all caught the Local 1000 Folk Pathways: Diversity in Song concert the last week of March on YouTube. The virtual show was sponsored by the Music Performance Trust Fund. If you have not used this resource and want to know more about it contact Richard Coombs. in our office. A special thank you to Faith Nolan, our Eastern Rep. and John Acosta, member of our DEI working group for their work on putting this together and for being part of the line up. What a joy to see them as well as Calle Sur and Tralain sharing their songs and talent with the world.

The monthly coffee hours are going great. It is always fun to join in the conversation with fellow members and catch up on what everyone is doing. If you don’t know about these events check out the Local 1000 Facebook group for date and times of upcoming chats.

As the Fair Trade Music committee continues to build our campaign, we need your help. Send an email to the committee (FairTradeMusic@Local1000.org) and let us know where you are playing and who you think would be great FTM partners. As we build this list, we will reach out to them and invite them to be part of the growing list of FTM venues across North America. If you would like to join this exciting work send an email to the committee and let them know you would like to help.

Finally, I want to say thank you to those of you who have started making monthly Estimated Work Dues payments. If you are not working off of LS1 or LPPC contracts this is an easy way to pay your work dues. Thanks!

Together We Are Mighty!

President Fowler

Work Dues Equivalency/Solidarity Pledge

When I joined Local 1000 in February 2013, it was impressed upon me that paying 2.5% work dues was part of being a member in good standing, just as our annual membership dues is, and that it was my responsibility to pay. This was reinforced by the office as well. Since most of my income is derived from other sources, and I don’t file contracts, I create a simple spreadsheet of all of my gigs for the year, total the gross and subtract the shares that band members receive to determine my net income subject to Work Dues as the basis for my payment. I have also made additional solidarity payments if I decided to contribute more. Our work dues support our work as a local and our wonderful administrative staff, Richard and Colin, and it is critical that we maintain our responsibilities to stay solvent. Please join me in making sure you are paying your work dues or making Estimated Work Dues payments.

Mara Levine, Local 1000 Member

Are you signed up for monthly Estimated Work Dues or Solidarity Pledge payments?

Learn more here. 

Canadian Report

As spring wedges it way into our days, the promise of more music …outdoor music…. comes into focus. And more work! According to some online folk discussion groups, the folk touring and festival realities have changed. There seem to be fewer festivals…we all know about the demise of Vancouver’s wonderful festival… with less money to spend. But, persistence and great music will see our world return to a more ‘present’ time. Speaking of present, there’s strong talk that the outrageous increase proposed for the cost of US visas will not go through.  So as I like to say….play….just play.

Arthur McGregor, Local 1000 VP from Canada

Local 1000 Women’s Coffee & Caucus

The next “Women’s Coffee & Caucus Hour” will happen on Wednesday, April 26th. Join us for support, sharing experiences, truth, action, planning future events, and amplifying women’s voices in our union.

AFM Local 1000 Women’s Coffee & Caucus

Wednesday, April 26, 2023,  12pm Pacific/1pmMTN/2pm Central/3pm Eastern

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82276196970?pwd=RFpiQWdmQXRxQ1hhL2FERVd0VnNuZz09

Meeting ID: 822 7619 6970

Passcode: 288278

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kyKnWZcFI

Local 1000 Coffee Hour

Good News! The Local 1000 Virtual Coffee Hour will be resuming on Monday May 1, hosted by Charlie King, and continuing on the first Monday of the month in June as well. Please join us for an informal hour of conversation and support with union friends and family @ 3 pm ET (12 Pacific/1 pm MTN/2 pm Central)

Topic: Coffee hour, L1K & friends

Time: May 1, 2023 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada,12 Pacific/1 pm MTN/2 pm Central)

Every month on the First Mon, 2 occurrence(s)
May 1, 2023 03:00 PM
Jun 5, 2023 03:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81532883708?pwd=VmNjRVk0REN3TGRjeEZzUmJ1VFgzUT09

Meeting ID: 815 3288 3708
Passcode: 352911

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kug241Psj

Music Performance Trust Fund Celebrates 75^th Anniversary

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), a non-profit group that seeks to strengthen communities through the power of music. The organization recently announced plans to mark its 75th anniversary with a host of expanded initiatives, including new programming, scholarships, and more.

Of particular interest to our Canadian members, the MPTF has announced a significant 33% increase in funding for the Canadian market, where it supported 1,000+ live, admission-free music events and distributed more than $1,000,000 CAD to local union musicians in the last year alone!

“MPTF’s work to spread its joy as far and wide as possible deserves the utmost praise…Your commitment towards supporting musicians, making music a part of every child’s life, and adding to public knowledge about music, is unmatched…”

– Excerpt from official statement of Prime Minister Trudeau

Looking ahead, MPTF plans include a slate of admission-free live events, as well as focusing on areas that still lag in recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, or which suffered setbacks from lack of funding, staffing, or government support. In April, the MPTF will host more than 250 live music performances in celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month and will partner with local businesses and civic organizations to commemorate Juneteenth.

A minimum of $150,000 will be awarded to students in the U.S. and Canada in the Fall of 2023 through two scholarship programs, MPTF’s Music Family Scholarships and the Music’s Future Scholarship, which was established to help advance music majors. Over the previous year, more than 90 Music Family Scholarships were given to AFM musicians with family members attending college, while 30 Music’s Future Scholarships went to music students unaffiliated with the union.  

This information is excerpted from articles that can be found on-line in Celebrity Access and at the MPTF website. For more information on MPTF programs, live stream and in-person music events, and more, visit www.musicpf.org and www.facebook.com/the.mptf/ 

Important Upcoming Dates

April 13: E-Board Meeting

Apr 26: Womens’ Coffee & Caucus

May 25: E-Board Meeting

For more information, view the Local 1000 calendar

Committee and E-Board meetings

The bulk of the work of this Union gets done through the hundreds of volunteer hours provided by committee members and the Ex. Board. The E-Board meets every 6 weeks via zoom and the committees meet regularly to carry out the business of our Local. If you want to join the excitement or have a concern that you think we should be addressing, please contact President Fowler. It takes all of us working together to stand up and fight for our work. We need you! Please consider joining us.

Conference Call – Represent Local 1000!

Local 1000 hopes to be represented at more conferences to reach musicians in a range of the independent music industry. Our labor and voices are needed now more than ever, for our members and non-members alike. If you are going to be attending a conference and want to help spread the word of Local 1000 please contact President Aaron Fowler to see how you can be an Ambassador for YOUR UNION.

Communications Committee (Comm Comm)

The Comm Comm is reviewing the website to determine what needs to be updated and/or changed. If you have any feedback on the website, please contact Susan Lewis, your Western Rep on the Executive Board at repwest@local1000.org

Please update your profile! If you are not sure how, there is a video that walks you through the process. You must be logged in to complete your profile. If you don’t know your log-in credentials, contact the office: together@local1000.org

Emergency Relief Fund
The Local 1000 Emergency Relief Fund has $500 no-interest loans available to members in need. To apply, go to: https://www.local1000.org/resources/emergency-relief-fund/

Social Media Handles

Are you connected to Local 1000’s Social Media accounts? If not, make sure you like or follow us!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afmlocal1000

Twitter: https://twitter.com/local1000afm

Facebook Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/local1000afm

We also have a private member page, which is to facilitate communication between members of Local 1000 and to promote discussion of Local 1000 issues amongst our members. Please ask to join this page to connect with your fellow members (note: this page is for current Local 1000 members only — friends of the Local are encouraged to like our public page instead.)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AFM.Local1000

Member News

Tell us your news! Have you released an album, won an award, been involved in an interesting initiative that you’d like to let people know about?

If you have exciting news to share with Local 1000 members, we want to know. Submit Your News Here!

Submissions should relate to significant career events, Please do not submit individual gig or tour announcements. Thank you!

We’ll include your news in an upcoming Local 1000 e-newsletter, and we’ll post it on our public Local 1000 page at https://www.facebook.com/local1000afm

April Birthdays

Finally, we would like to wish the following members Happy Birthday! If your birthday falls in April and you don’t see it listed below, or if the date is incorrect, please send an email to Deborah Van Kleef with your birthdate, current phone number and email address. Thanks to Deborah and fellow Birthday Bunnies, Lydia Adams Davis, Arthur McGregor and Tim Van Egmond.

In Solidarity,

AFM Local 1000