Work dues are to be paid by all Local 1000 members who are working in the music industry. These payments fund the bulk of the operating expenses of the Local (most of our membership dues go straight to the American Federation of Musicians and do not stay in our own Local). There are three different kids of payments: Work Dues payments (from filed contracts), Estimated Work Dues (formerly called Work Dues Equivalency) payments and Solidarity Pledge payments.
- If you are a working musician, you are required to pay Work Dues of 2.5% of scale wages on all musical services performed. We prefer members file contracts (LS-1 or LPCC) on all work and pay pension and dues on this work. Members who are incorporated can set up a Collective Bargaining Agreement and make one payment per month on all work. Please speak to a board or staff member if you are interested in doing this.
Section 4(a). All members are required to pay dues based on earnings, known as "work dues," at scale wages for all musical service performed subject to the jurisdiction of this Union. Work dues shall be computed at the rate of two and one-half (2.5) percent of the applicable scale wage with the exception of work dues on recording contracts. Work dues on recording contracts shall be computed at the rate of three and one-half (3.5) percent.
- If you are working but not filing contracts on your musical services performed, you should be making a monthly Estimated Work Dues payment (formerly called Work Dues Equivalency) based on scale wages for that work. You can estimate this from a yearly average. For example, if you do 30 regular concerts each year ($250 minimum scale each) and 20 small venue/club concerts each year ($120 minimum scale each) your yearly total would be $9,900 in scale wages and your dues would be $300.00 or $25.00 per month. This can be easily set up as a recurring monthly payment.
# of concerts concert type scale Total x 2.5% 30 Solo concert 300.00 9000.00 225.00 20 Solo small concert 150.00 3000.00 75.00 Annual Est. Work Dues 12,000.00 300.00 Monthly Est. Work Dues (annual total /12)
25.00 - If you are not working as a musician but wish to support the ongoing work of the Local, you can make a Solidarity Pledge payment of whatever amount you would like to contribute. This can be a one-time payment or a recurring monthly payment.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Work Dues paid to Local 1000 may be tax-deductible in the U.S. as “professional fees,” but we have heard differing opinions on this point, so please check with your tax specialist to confirm.