Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Local 1000 Executive Board is monitoring the Covid-19 crisis and how it is affecting our members. We have some important updates and some urgent requests from you.
Safety and health are our first concern right now. We urge you to stay informed with reliable information from trusted sources. Those with certain pre-existing conditions and those in older age brackets are much more susceptible to Covid-19 and we need to be aware that even if we are not in a high-risk category, we can pass the virus on to others who are.
Our work involves bringing groups of people together in enclosed spaces over a long period of time and those are the situations where the virus is easily passed on. Please take appropriate precautions as advised by local Public Health authorities and work collaboratively with presenters to determine the best course of action in each case. Information is changing rapidly and it looks like the wisest choice right now is to cancel any gatherings and follow “social distancing” protocol.
Many of our members are dealing with gig, tour, and teaching cancellations, which will affect our income and ability to pay our bills over the next few months.
Local 1000 is committed to helping any member who finds themselves in financial crisis due to this situation. Our Emergency Relief Fund can supply a no-interest, forgivable loan of up to $500 for members who need assistance to cover immediate needs such as rent or food costs. If you have savings to get you by for the next 1-2 months, please hold off on your request so we can help those in the most need first. You must be a member in good standing and demonstrate financial need. Find out more here: https://www.local1000.org/local-1000-emergency-relief-fund-covid-19
(Thank you to members Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer for initiating a fund-raising effort to make this possible).
Here are a few other things that we are doing and some ways that we can help each other.
- If you are able, please make a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund.All donations, no matter how large or small, will help your brothers and sisters. Together we can help each other through! https://www.local1000.org/product/emergency-relief-fund/
- Encourage others to donate to our ERF fund.You do not have to be a union member to donate. This is one way your fans, friends, family, etc can directly help musicians. We will be sending out social media posts encouraging people to donate. Please share widely, and/or create your own fundraising appeal.
- If you have lost income from gigs, please send us details as soon as possible.We are collecting data on lost income which could be used to help lobbying efforts. For every engagement please tell us:
- Band/musician name
- Are you Canadian or US member?
- Date of the gig
- Fee
- Specific travel expenses that you have LOST that won’t be refunded (please don’t include any expenses that you have or will be reimbursed for):
- Airfare
- Hotel
- Gas/ car rental
- Other
- Please email this information ASAP to: president@local1000.org
- Join the online conversation with fellow members.We are sharing resources and ideas with each other on our private member’s group on Facebook. There are some very creative ideas brewing so I would encourage you to jump in and participate. If you are not a member of that group, you can request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AFM.Local1000/
- Visit our Covid-19 webpage for updates and resources.Here you will find links to trusted sources of information and resources for independent musicians. https://www.local1000.org/local-1000-covid-19-updates-and-resources
- Help us set up an online tech support team.Are you able to offer to help fellow members who want to set up live streaming concerts or organize other ways of taking their work online? Member Daniel Senie has offered to help coordinate a team of people willing to offer advice to members. Please contact him at dan@danandfaith.com if you can help.
The office will be operating but we are still working out details and monitoring the situation in New York City where our office is located. If you need immediate assistance, please email the office rather than phoning. If you need to make a payment, please pay online rather than mailing a cheque. We will send out another update soon with specific details of office operations going forward.
These are challenging times for independent musicians. We are the storytellers, the community builders, the connectors and reflectors, the truth-tellers and the dream weavers. Our work is about touching and inspiring others, and Local 1000 is here to help us all find ways of doing that in the best ways possible at this time.
Let’s help lift each other up, let’s share what we can, and let’s find a way through together.
In Solidarity,
Eve Goldberg
Your Prez