Local 1000 March 2021 Newsletter
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
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
Happy March to everyone,
I hope this newsletter finds each of you well and healthy. I hope you are rising above the many challenges that the Pandemic has laid on us and that you are staying in a creative space.
There is a lot of good information in this newsletter about initiatives being supported by our Local. Please take the time to inform yourself on each of them.
This month we remember the passing of our sister Anne Feeney. Her fire for life and justice seeking example is a call for each of us to follow. May we carry on her spirit as we bring our fire, fight and passion to our work. Thank you sister Anne.
Continued thanks to everyone who have been giving of their time to support the Local. Members have stepped up to help with making calls to members, worked on our social media pages, and website, worked with the ERF Committee, gave their expert advise to members about streaming, served on committees and a whole lot more. If you would like to get involved please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know where you want to help out.
Richard and Colin, our office staff, continue to work with our members who are working on streaming contracts. The MPTF has money available so please check with Richard to see if your online performance can receive funding. This money is on a first come first serve basis so contact him soon. Colin is working on this years CBA’s (Collective Bargaining Agreement) so if yours is ready to be renewed you will be receiving an email from him with the new contract. CBA’s are a great way to simply the reporting of your contracts. Many of us have them and I can tell you it is WAY easier to report gigs using the CBA than having to report every show. Contact the office if you want information about setting up a CBA.
Stay engaged, stay active, stay in the fight. Together we are Mighty!
AFM Local 1000 Zoom Coffee Hours
Local 1000 member Coffee Hours carry on! We meet every other Wednesday, hosted by members Annie Patterson & Aileen Vance.
Feel free to drop in just to say hi or to stay for the duration. We would love to see you!
The next meeting will be on March 24.
All meetings are on Wednesdays on Zoom @ 4pm Eastern/3pmCT/2pmMt/1pmPacific.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89063539938
Meeting ID: 890 6353 9938
Password: 651074
Pension Fund Update!
Good News: The American Rescue Plan, including the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, was enacted by the U.S. House of Representatives today and will be signed into law this week — a victory that will protect the pensions of thousands of AFM members.
The American Rescue Plan will provide the AFM-EP Fund and other struggling multiemployer pension plans with funding needed to pay earned benefits for the next 30 years. While Fund actuaries are currently studying the precise impact of this bill, it appears to help address the Fund’s financial challenges for decades without the need for benefit reductions.
Support the Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music Teachers
Teachers at the Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music have formed a union and they are fighting to have a voice on the board of the organization. Their main focus right now is shared governance— they are requesting four seats on the board. The school’s board ranges from 28 – 35 members, so they will not sway a board decision, but they feel that it is important for teacher voices to be heard in decisions that affect the future of the school. Local 1000 Ex. Board has signed on to the letter linked below. Please consider adding your name.
Letter RE: Old Town School of Folk Music
For questions or to sign on to their letter, please email Sam Cantor ([email protected]) or Dona Benkert ([email protected]) with your support.
Emergency Relief Fund Update
Local 1000 still has Emergency Relief Fund COVID-19 Grants of up to $1000 available to any member in good standing, while funds last. This is money you do not have to pay back. To access the application visit the ERF link on our website and log in: https://www.local1000.org/erf-covid-19-grants-available/
*Please note that the website hasn’t yet been updated to reflect 2021–but we definitely still have grants available.*
Submit Your 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? You can let us know by filling out the form here: https://www.local1000.org/my-account/submit-member-news/
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
MPTF Funds for Streaming Concerts
The Music Performance Trust Fund will now fund up to 100% for a free live streamed concert. This is a great opportunity for members make decent money from an online concert. The concert must be sponsored by another organization, and there are specific rules and steps to go through to have your live performance approved. Please contact the office at [email protected] for more information.
Union Protection for Self-Presented Live Streams
The Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) is a simple AFM contract that you can sign for self-presented live stream concerts which will safeguard your performing rights if the content is used by another organization in future. We’d like to encourage all our members to use this contract for self-presented streaming concerts.
Local 1000 Livestream Guidelines
The Local 1000 Fair Trade Music Committee, following on the recommendations from the AFM, has created guidelines for negotiating with venues for live stream concert engagements. These are guidelines to help you negotiate fair deals with presenting organizations that take into account how long a live stream will be left up on the internet, what are minimum guarantees and minimum percentages for income earned through a livestream concert, and so on.
Newsletter Contest
We are looking for a catchy name for our monthly e-newsletter, which you are reading right now. “Monthly e-news” seems a little too boring. Our yearly, more lengthy journal is called “The New Deal,” and we’d like to have some similarly pithy and fun name for our regularly e-news. So we’re holding a contest! There are prizes to be won! To enter, email Debra Cowan your ideas at [email protected]
The New Deal Is Coming
Our yearly journal will be coming out later this month so watch for it in your inbox! Features on Local 1000’s response to the pandemic, member profiles, and a piece on Anne Feeney.
Canadian Corner
Local 1000 Canadian Committee
Our new Vice President from Canada, Arthur McGregor is seeking volunteers from Local 1000 to participate in the Canadian Committee. If you are interested, please contact him at [email protected]
Updated National Agreements from the CFM
The Canadian office has introduced some new and updated national agreements. They are available to download here:
Canadian Broadcast Streaming Agreement Side Letter
MPTF Streaming Pack (includes agreement letter, instructions, and contract)
Updated Personal Service Contract (B7)
Member News
Do you have a new album coming out? Did you recently receive an award?
If you have exciting news to share with Local 1000 members, we want to know. Submit Your News Here!
Collean Kattau released a new album in February 2020 called Besos Kisses. Colleen says, “it is a labor of love especially informed by where I live in Central New York.”
Hal Leonard has contracted with Steve Eulberg to arrange and publish “50 First Songs on Mountain Dulcimer” which will feature 80% tunes that are under copyright and 20% tunes in the Public Domain. The anticipated publication date is later this year.
At the 2020 Just Plain Folks International Awards, Tom Neilson of Greenfield, MA was awarded 1st Place for Best Traditional Folk Album, “Between The Rivers” and 1st place for Best Political/Social commentary Album, “It’s A Crime To Tell The Truth”. He also received Finalist awards for song and album. He had a total of 12 nominations in six categories. Tom’s newest album, “Every Ten Minutes” was released in December.
From Tret Fure: “In November I released my 17th album on my label, Tomboy girl Records. I’m proud to announce that my song “Monuments” was the #1 song for the month of January, my CD was #2 and I was the #3 artist for that month!”
Reggie Harris was recently recognized with TWO awards for his work, The W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Award, and the Folk Alliance Spirit of Folk Award. The awards recognize Reggie’s artistry and his ongoing work in education, human rights, and racial equality through music and storytelling. Congratulations Reggie!
March Birthdays
Finally, we would like to wish the following members Happy Birthday! If your birthday falls in March and you don’t see it listed below, or if the date is incorrect, please send an email to our Birthday Bunny, Deborah Van Kleef with your birthdate, current phone number and email address.
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Sharon Abreu Leonardo Biciunas Jonathan Carroll Tom Chapin Ian Clark Lui Collins Morgan Doctor David Durning Andrea England Eric Erickson Diane Ferlatte William Foss Tret Fure Bernard Gilbert Bev Grant Bucky Halker Tyler Hughes Patricia Humphries Abigail Lapell |
Alex Leggett Bonnie Lockhart Carol Maillard Michael Mark Kerri Ough Emily Ann Peterson James Robertson David Roth Heather Roy Marie Savoie-Levac Joel Simpson Lynn Smith Aliza Thibodeau Tim Van Egmond Aileen Vance Howard Wooden John Wright George Wurzbach Bennett Zurofsky |
In Solidarity,
AFM Local 1000
Besos Kisses New album