Newsletter May 2017

Local 1000 May 2017 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

 

State of the Union Finances Report

The staff and I have been working hard to streamline the office and accounting procedures. We just finished implementing QuickBooks Online for our bookkeeping. This will allow for better reporting of our current accounting situation to the executive board, and for more streamlined office accounting procedures, as well as allowing remote access to up-to-date accounting.

We were also able to give our staff a small cost of living raise. AND, You will be happy to hear that our first quarter has been a good one for us financially. We are about even with first quarter last year on our account balances, and if we compare the income and expenses with the first quarter of last year, we are a little bit ahead.

Thank you to those of you who have donated to the Emergency Relief fund. We have increased our funds from $2000 to $2500. The ERF is an important backstop for our members when they have life challenges, and every penny counts. If you would like to contribute to the ERF, click here.

It is a pleasure serving you. If you have questions about our finances, you are always welcome to call the office, or email me at [email protected]

Thanks,

Vi

 

SERFA 2017

Once again Local 1000 will have a prominent presence at SERFA being held at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, NC, May 17-21, 2017. Debra Cowan will be hosting and facilitating a panel discussion about Local 1000 on Thursday, May 18 at 1:45 PM in room 203.

Local 1000 will also be hosting our popular Showcase-Free Zone (SFZ) in the Conference Center lobby from 10:45 PM -12:45 AM Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after the formal showcases conclude. All conference attendees are welcome to share a song, story and/or tune in the SFZ.

SFZ Schedule and Hosts

Thursday, May 18 

• 10:45pm – 11:45pm:  Reggie Harris “Songs of Peace and Freedom”
• 11:45pm – 12:45am:  Si Kahn and Debra Cowan “Those That Came before”

Friday, May 19

• 10:45pm – 11:45pm:  Bill and Eli Perras “50 Shades of Blue”
• 11:45pm – 12:45am:  Dan and Faith “Gettin’ On My Travelin’ Shoes”

Saturday, May 20

• 10:45pm – 11:45pm:  Sandy Andina “Tickling the Funny Bone”
• 11:45pm – 12:45am:  Scott Berwick “Singing the Old Songs”

 

Following the Music with Freebo

Local 1000 member Freebo has been gracing the world with his music and his life for decades. He has many experiences and gifts to share but the one he holds closest is his understanding of following the music & the passion rather than the fame & the fortune. Freebo says this is the thing that is closest to his heart. You won’t want to miss his sharing. Join us and be inspired.

Our virtual union hall is a great place to share stories and connect with our brothers and sisters. Our next call is May 16th. Times vary depending on where you are in the world. 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central: 7:00 p.m. Mountain; 6:00 p.m. Pacific.

If you have not been on one of our Cyber Union calls it is simple. Just follow the link below, download the plug-in at Zoom (1 minute download) and you are in! If you have questions please feel free to call Aaron Fowler, 316-207-4715.

Topic: Local 1000 May 2017 Cyber Union Hall – Following the Music

Time: May 16, 2017 8:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

 

Keeping Up With Your Membership Dues

Sometimes we get questions from members about their membership dues, and this post is meant to answer some basic questions about what happens when you are late paying your dues.

You may not realize that a significant part of your membership fees goes to the International office of the AFM. Each quarter, we are obligated to send the AFM per capita dues based on a headcount of members. This is one of the ways we maintain our charter.

When your membership expires, and you haven’t paid your dues, we keep you on our roster for two quarters before termination and continue to bill for membership dues unless we receive a letter of resignation beforehand. It’s important to note that the rules regarding membership and expulsion are all governed by the bylaws of the AFM, and in order to stay a chartered local we are required to follow the process set out in the bylaws.

We know our members don’t have lots of money, and many of you are travelling a lot. So we understand that sometimes you might get behind in paying your dues. We send out regular invoices so that you know when your membership fees are due, and how much you owe. We try to remind you on every invoice that non-payment of your dues will mean we have to suspend your membership, and if you don’t pay your dues for two quarters, we are required to expel you. When we are able, we personally contact members who are in danger of being expelled to help them avoid the extra reinstatement fee they will owe if they do get expelled and ever want to join again.

Of course, the best thing that you can do is to renew your membership before the renewal deadline, in order to avoid being suspended or incurring any extra fees. This will also help Local 1000 work more efficiently by not having to spend time chasing you when you are overdue.

We hope this clarifies a few things about your membership dues. We value all of our members (after all, we wouldn’t be anything without members!), and the staff and Board of Local 1000 do our best to work on your behalf. We welcome your questions, and if you have concerns, confusion, or problems with paying your membership dues, we hope you will reach out to the office or to a board member so that we can help you individually.

 

MPTF MusicianFest Program Funding Opportunity

Local 1000 has been granted the opportunity to fund 5 performances under the MPTF’s MusicianFest program.

The MPTF (Music Performance Trust Fund) presents thousands of live, admission-free musical programs annually in the United States and Canada. It is funded by royalties from record labels and is sponsored by the AFM and the record labels.

Learn more about applying for MPTF grants here: http://www.musicpf.org/mptf_apply.html

What is the MPTF’s MusicianFest program?

The MPTF is creating 500 music performances at senior centers across the U.S and Canada for its 3^rd year!  The MPTF will implement this entire program via a one-time grant from the Film Fund.

MusicianFest is an additional program offered by the MPTF. The typical MPTF performance is paid to the performer by the venue. The MPTF pays the venue half of the wages and pension contributions the musician receives, the venue in turn pays the musician. MusicianFest is completely different. Local 1000 would be responsible for matching a musician with an appropriate venue, the MPTF will pay Local 1000 and Local 1000 will pay the musician after the performance has been completed.

How the program works:

• Local 1000 has been allocated 5 performances by the MPTF.
• Local 1000 is in charge of scheduling the performances with the senior centers.
• Local 1000 will hire a musician who can play the type of music the venue requests.

Guidelines for the Program:

• Primarily for Solo Musicians.
• $200 will be paid for each performance.
• MPTF will cover 100% for each performance.

The program will run May 1^st – April 30^th, 2018!

How do I get paid?

• Local 1000 will need to receive a W-9 from the USA members that we hire.
• Local 1000 will send payment AFTER the performance is completed!

 

Communications Committee

One of the most important things we do is keep in touch with you, our members. We do that through this newsletter, through our website and Facebook pages, and through The New Deal, our yearly print publication.

We need your help! We are still looking for members who want to help oversee this very important aspect of our work, including curating and preparing content for our website and Facebook pages, overseeing our monthly e-newsletter, and collecting and editing interesting and inspiring stories for the New Deal. It would involve a small amount of regular work, meeting with other committee members (by Skype or Zoom) and finding and creating content as a group or individually.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Colin at the office [email protected] and put “Local 1000 Communications Committee” in the subject line.

 

Work Dues Equivalency – Set Up An Automatic Monthly Payment!

Are you filing union contracts? If not, please help sustain Local 1000 by automatically paying a small monthly amount every month on your credit card. It’s simple, easy, and effective.

Each time you file a union contract through Local 1000, you pay 2.5% in work dues to the local. Your work dues are the juice that keeps the office running. However, only 20% of our members file union contracts, which means we don’t always have the financial resources we need to work effectively for you.

At our recent Executive Board meeting at Folk Alliance, your board re-committed to “paying our dues,” and those who are not filing union contracts set up an AUTOMATIC MONTHLY PAYMENT for work dues equivalency on our credit cards by phoning Richard in the office. It took less than 5 minutes.

Scale for one gig at a regular venue is $230. 2.5% work dues on that fee is $5.75, or $69 per year. Consider supporting your union by paying $5.75 a month to Local 1000 automatically on your credit card.

You can set up your own monthly payment in minutes by calling Richard in the office at (212) 843-8726 (Tues & Thurs, 10 am – 6 pm). All it takes is your credit card information and a few minutes of your time.

 

Emergency Relief Fund

Please consider helping your brothers and sisters who may need assistance in the near future by making a small contribution to the ERF when you renew your membership or go to www.Local1000.org and make your donation. $5 or $10 dollars will go a long way if enough members make donations.

Canadian Corner

 

Canadian Cheques

As of June 1st, we will no longer be able to accept payment by Canadian cheque. Canadian members will be able to pay by credit card or PayPal only. Please contact Eve at [email protected] or the office at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns. (And read your April 2017 e-news for more about why we are making this change!)

Eve Goldberg

 

P2 Situation Updates

US Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) has increased the fees for all O and P visa petitions to US $460.

More Information is Available Here

The Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) is now advising Canadian members applying for P2 visas to get their application in at least 120 days before the first engagement.

There have been changes to the P2 forms posted on the CFM website. If you are applying, please make sure you download the latest application, which can be found here:

English: http://www.cfmusicians.org/services/work-permits
French: http://www.cfmusicians.org/services/permis-de-travail

Please contact Canadian VP Eve Goldberg or the CFM for more information.

Local 1000 Membership Update

 

New and Reinstated Members

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

Jordan O’Connor Jean Rohe Alex Rubin Jordan Safer

Laura Sheehy Cody Walters Chloe Watkinson Craig Werth

May Birthdays

 

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

05/01   Taylor Ashton 05/01   Laurie Veldheer 05/02   Carl Fichtenbaum 05/02   Nadine Landry 05/03   Dana Lyons 05/04   Joshua Archer 05/05   Aaron Fowler 05/05   John Roberts 05/05   Tanya Tagaq Gillis 05/06   Dave Fry 05/07   Donna Mullhollan 05/08   Chet Gardiner 05/10   James “Doc” MacLean 05/10   Andrew Woods 05/11   Ansam Al-Sarraj 05/11   Karla Pilgrim 05/11   Sean Pinchin 05/11   Joel Rafael 05/12   Jon Cobert 05/12   Guy Davis 05/13   Jimmy Keane 05/14   Ieva McKenty 05/14   Lucie Blue Tremblay 05/15   Neil Elsmore 05/15   Amber Rogers 05/15   Fred Gosbee

05/16   Michael McGeary 05/16   Rob Szabo 05/18   Emilyn Stam 05/18   Kyle Sullivan 05/19   Vi Wickam 05/20   Didi Negron 05/20   Chuck Brodsky 05/21   Meredith Bates 05/21   Kim Harris 05/22   Boyd MacKenzie 05/24   Chloe Charles 05/25   George Mann 05/25   Dave McCann 05/25   Carrie Newcomer 05/26   Shawna Caspi 05/27   Michael Celia 05/27   Charlie King 05/27   Samantha Martin 05/28   Simeon Abbot 05/28   Daniel Peloquin-Hopfner 05/29   Brandi Disterheft 05/30   JT Brown 05/30   Jeni Hankins 05/31   Kenneth Advocat 05/31   Peter Yarrow

 

In Solidarity,

AFM Local 1000