Newsletter November 2018

While you are at NERFA, come visit us at Exhibit Hall Table 48.

Update to AFM-EPF Rehabilitation Plan – New LS-1 form now available

On June 22nd an important update from the AFM-EPF went out to our members:

https://afm-epf.org/Portals/2/AFMDocuments/RehabUpdate_201806.pdf

Essentially this is an update to the rehabilitation plan originally put in place in 2011 for the Employer Pension Fund.

CBA contracts negotiated after August 1, 2018 will need to include a 10% increase to the employer pension contributions. For example if your contribution was previously $100 monthly, your new pension contribution under this updated rehabilitation plan would be $110 monthly. The Valid Pension Contribution Rates listed on the back of the LS-1 contact will also increase 10%, so if your rate was previously 10.9%, the corresponding rate will become 11.99%.

Regarding LS-1s, although these increases should technically begin on August 1, 2018, the Fund recognizes prices may already have been negotiated for upcoming work, so they have administratively given Single Engagements an extra 3 month phase in period and will be looking for the increase to be paid on work occurring November 1, 2018 and later.

The new LS-1 form can be downloaded here.

Please be sure to read the announcement above from the EPF for the entire update. The office is in touch with the AFM-EPF regarding this issue, so please let us know if you have any questions about this.

Just a reminder: Pension contributions need to be received by Local 1000 no later than 1 month after the engagement. For example: if you do work in February we should receive your contracts and payments for pension contributions no later than the end of March, otherwise you risk being fined by the AFM-EPF $25 per engagement submitted.

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 fourth 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.

Canadian Corner

P2 Updates

The CFM is now advising Canadian members applying for P2 visas to get their application in at least 60 days before the first engagement.

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 Kev Corbett or the CFM for more information.

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!