Newsletter July 2018

Local 1000 July 2018 Newsletter

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This is our regular monthly email newsletter that goes out to everyone in the first week of each month. It includes reminders, member news and important announcements from the Executive Board and the office.

News from the Executive Board

 

Report from the Great Labor Arts Exchange

Local 1000 celebrated 25 years in style at the Great Labor Arts Exchange June 21 – 24. Twenty-five members attended the gathering, which brings together union activists and artists with the goal of strengthening the labor movement through the use of music and arts. Past Local 1000 President John McCutcheon and brand new Local 1000 member Lynn Marie Smith were recognized with the Joe Hill Award for their work integrating the arts into the labor movement. A number of members presented workshops over the course of the weekend, and we had a chance to talk about Local 1000 history in our own information session.

Many of our members joined other GLAE attendees at the Poor People’s Campaign rally in downtown Washington on Saturday. Throughout the gathering many of our members participated in the GLAE song contest and the “Arts Exchange” open mic. At the final concert, we sang a very special “happy birthday to us” for turning 25, Many wonderful connections were made and there was much celebration of our beginnings at the GLAE all those years ago.

Thanks to Steve Eulberg for his work in coordinating our participation, and big thanks also to GLAE Executive Director and Local 1000 member Elise Bryant for welcoming us to the event. We hope to do it again sometime soon!

 

Report from Our Member Retreat/Membership Meeting

On Sunday, after the GLAE wrapped up, many Local 1000 members stayed on for a one-day retreat and membership meeting. A staff member from the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA) joined us to lead a training session on sexual assault and harassment, and we had a chance to brainstorm about what Local 1000 could be doing to address this issue. In the afternoon we had a chance for a thoughtful discussion about the future of Local 1000 in a changing music world. We will be posting more information about both of these ongoing conversations soon.

At our membership meeting we passed important motions related to membership dues and work scales (see below for more on those). We also passed a motion to develop a sexual harassment and assault policy, and we endorsed the Poor People’s Campaign.

We finished off our time together with a wonderful gathering at member Charlie Pilzer’s Tonal Park Studios, a fitting end to a fruitful and meaningful gathering.

 

Dues Increase

At the membership meeting on June 24, members approved a motion to increase annual dues by $5 to US$177 per year, or $46.75 per quarter. This dues increase will take effect as of October 1, 2018 and will be reflected on invoices for the third quarter of 2018 and forward. As noted in previous newsletters, the increase will help us cover our basic operating costs.

 

Scales Increase

At the recent membership meeting, members approved a motion to increase Local 1000 wage scales. Information about the proposed increases has been in the last few newsletters, but in the meeting members also voted to increase the scale for K-12 engagements from $200 to $220 to match the AFM’s MPTF scale for those concerts. In addition, solo concert scale has gone up $20 to $250, solo small concert scale increased from $110 to $120. Ensemble scales for small concerts went from $110 to $120 for the leader, and $50 to $60 for a side person. All other scales remain the same. The entire revised schedule of scales is available on our website here. Local 1000 scales are the MINIMUM that members must use for contracted engagements, members are always free to negotiate higher fees.

 

Sexual Harassment/Assault Initiatives

Over the last few months, Local 1000 has been looking at how we can respond to sexual harassment and assault and help create a safer environment for everyone.

Here are some activities we have already been involved in:

– Local 1000 President Eve Goldberg helped Folk Alliance develop its statement on creating a safe and inclusive music industry.

– Local 1000 helped initiate Canadian Music Industry meetings that resulted in an Industry Anti-Harassment Statement and meetings that are ongoing.

– We hosted an educational session on sexual harassment and assault at our member retreat.

– Members voted at our recent membership meeting to develop a sexual harassment and assault policy.

We are in the process of brainstorming what other concrete steps we can take within Local 1000, including:

– incorporating anti-harassment language into Collective Bargaining Agreements and into the Fair Trade Music agreement

– more educational sessions for members on sexual harassment and sexual assault

– compiling resources to support members around harassment and assault issues

– developing a member task force to support members with harassment claims

– updating our policy and procedures handbook to include the anti-harassment policy we will be developing

– ongoing training for board members

– and more.

We would welcome your input and suggestions. Please contact Eve Goldberg at president@local1000.org if you have any thoughts or you would like to be involved.

 

Fall Membership Meeting

There will be one more membership meeting in 2018. Mark your calendars and plan to attend! The exact time and date will be announced soon!

Nov 8 or 9, 2018 – Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, Stamford, CT

 

Cyber Union Hall

Please note there will be no Cyber Union Hall meeting in July. Stay tuned for details on future meetings!

 

$25 for 25 Fundraiser

Together we can raise $12,500!

Local 1000 is 25 years old! It’s hard to believe but it’s true. This year Local 1000, the non-geographical “local” of the American Federation of Musicians, will mark 25 years of providing access to the pension fund, contract protection, instrument insurance and more, along the way creating an incredible community among touring folk and roots musicians.

Any way you look at it this is an amazing feat: 25 Years. Twenty-Five Years. 9,131 days! 1,300 weekends of gig availability.

To celebrate, we’re launching a fundraising campaign we call $25 for 25 years. Five $5 bills. 25 Years. $1 a year. This is an affordable way to say thank you and pay it forward in support of the ongoing work of the organization that is dedicated to supporting us in our careers. A gift of $25, one dollar for each of the years that our union local has been active.

What do you think? If each of our 500 members gives the minimum of $25, together we can raise $12,500!

Local 1000 Membership Update

 

New and Reinstated Members

We are excited to welcome the following new and recently reinstated members to Local 1000!

Andre Blais Chad Huval Jamar Jones

Abigail Lapell Jaden Spanier Suzanne Whitney

 

July Birthdays

 

Finally, we would like to wish the following members Happy Birthday! If your birthday falls in July 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.

07/01 Anne Feeney 07/01 Karen Bergmann 07/01 Bill Harley 07/03 Pop Wagner 07/05 Stacey Bulmer 07/05 Gina Forsyth 07/05 Billy Jonas 07/05 Theo Mitchell-Penner 07/06 David Doucet 07/07 Linda Williams 07/08 Elise Bryant 07/09 Sam Gleason 07/09 Andrew Marzotto 07/10 Rick Nestler 07/10 Elisabeth Perras 07/11 Joseph Morneault 07/15 Tommy Alesi 07/15 Stephen James 07/16 Terry Leonino 07/16 Layah Jane Singer-Wilson 07/17 Douglas Clegg 07/18 Folksinger Austin Nash

07/18 Bruce Molsky 07/19 Casey Neill 07/20 Caroline Brooks 07/21 Martin Broussard 07/21 Wyatt Gregory 07/23 Anita Cazzola 07/23 Dave Nachmanoff 07/25 Andrew Bryan 07/25 Bob Franke 07/25 Richard Kriehn 07/25 Avotcja Jiltonilro 07/25 Tim Readman 07/26 Karyn Oliver Draillard 07/26 Jessica Stuart 07/27 Susan Lewis 07/27 Brian Kobayakawa 07/27 Dan Bern 07/27 Mark Gamsjager 07/28 Jean Rohe 07/29 Kelly Mulhollan 07/30 Michael Archer 07/30 Martin van de Ven

In Solidarity,

AFM Local 1000