The Musicians Union

[bearclaw]

Could anyone shed some light as to the pros and cons of joining the Union? I was always under the assumption that it helped the classical/jazz cats who did more orchestral ensemble work. Although I could be wrong, I never heard of rock players getting work through it, or is it possible too?

[Phalex]

The president of my local union plays in a popular rock/country cover band, so I'd say there has to be something in it for the rockers.

I'm not a member, but I know they hook people up with backing band sort of stuff when big name acts come into town. (My impression is it's mostly for strings and horns)

The biggest benefit that I see from union membership is that they have programs in place to help pay for medical stuff for members. If you're gigging to pay the bills your whole life, odds are pretty good that you won't have adequate health insurance when you reach your autumn years.

[bearclaw]

Yeah, I heard that the medical benefits are not too bad for the free-lancing type.

[PJSShearer]

When I was a full-time pro I was a member of the British Musicians Union. I can't say I ever got any work out of it - that's not what they do. In fact when I first started,my mother called them and said "my son wants to get into the Business, can you help" and they said the business is run on "word of mouth and who you know", so no.

In the UK they do Car insurance 'cos most companies won't touch musicians (seriously). There was an advertising campaign here that featured Iggy Pop - what they didn't say was that they wouldn't insure him, if he applied!!.

However, they have (or did have) "clout" in certain areas - theatres, the BBC and other big entertainment companies. I did a well paid summer season 'cos they had to pay union rates (Pontin's Holiday Camp).

I don't know how they are on resolving disputes, but I used to enjoy reading up the Blacklist in the newsletter to see which agent/bandleader I used to work for was on it this time !!.

However, going to Union meetings you're going to meet other musicians and the more contacts u can make the better.

Finally, you used to get a discount on the door at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London!!

[VroomVroom]

I think the best thing you can do is visit the hall and ask some questions. Talk to some other folks who are members, and see what they have to say. In my experience, there is a huge disparity between costs & benefits from one local union to another.

[JTE]

It depends on the local, and the area you're gigging in. Around here (Central Illinois), it's pretty pointless. The union does NOT get you gigs. At best they maintain a list of musicians and their instruments. So, if a band leader needs a 'bone player they can call the union hall and get a list of trombone players. That might help if there are gigs around for bass players that fit into the pattern of those who call the union.

The problem are that the union contract is pretty pointless. It's mostly geared towards protecting the individual musicians from trouble with the band leader, and does almost nothing to protect the band (and/or band leader) from problems with the people hiring the band. And generally the union has no power to impact people who hire bands. The bars are under on obligaton to use union musicians, and the union can't enforce those agreements if they had them.

When I started gigging I joined AFM local #102 because the band I was in were all members. I paid like a $50 initiation fee, annual dues of $25 or so, and "work dues" of 5% of scale (no matter what the job actually paid, dues were based on scale). Scale at that time was $10/hour with a three hour minimum, and double for the leader. Now when I started, we'd send our work dues in once a month. Then we got a new BA who used to come out to the gigs to collect. We had a monthly gig that was Wednesday through Saturday, and we got paid on Saturday. He came out every night to collect dues for that night. And though he "waived" his BA salary, he collected travel expenses. So he'd bill the union for a trip from the hall to the place we were playing. And he'd bill for another trip from the hall to the place next door, etc. Also, you didn't get a receipt for your work dues unless you asked. And if you asked for a receipt, your money went into on of his coat pockets, but if you failed to ask for a receipt, the cash went into another pocket...

The union will tell you that they support live music performance by using MPTF money. That's "Musicians Performance Trust Fund" which is a fund administered by the AFM. However, despite the assertion that it's union money, it's money funded by the broadcast and recording industry, not union money. And to use MPTF funds, you can't charge anything. So, if you play a fund-raiser for The American Red Cross, you can't use MPTF funds to pay the musicians. But, if the BA's friend wants to have a band at a party, they can use MPTF funds. The effect was that it lowered the going rate for private parties. The person wanting a band for a backyard party could call the union and only have to put up half of scale to get a band, and the trust fund paid the other half of scale. So you could get a band for only $90 for three hours.

Now, if you get into real, professional, full-time gigging, the AFM can offer some very real benefits. At that level (not talking rock stars here, but the folks who play dance band, orchestral, studio, etc. gigs) the individual musician/band leader arrangement is more imporant to the musician than it is for a week-end bar band. And that's where the union MIGHT be useful and effective. But for weekend warriors, it's generally got no benefit and only costs you money.

John

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by JTE

The problem are that the union contract is pretty pointless. It's mostly geared towards protecting the individual musicians from trouble with the band leader, and does almost nothing to protect the band (and/or band leader) from problems with the people hiring the band. And generally the union has no power to impact people who hire bands. The bars are under on obligaton to use union musicians, and the union can't enforce those agreements if they had them.

That makes sense, since you're generally a contractor offering services to the establishment rather than an employee. For the club to recognize the union, you'd have to have a certification election at every bar you played. I can't imagine the NLRB showing up at every dive bar on the corner to run an election. Even if the Employee Free Choice Act goes through, I don't realistically see how bands could organize at every venue they played. Even more so, I can't imagine the NLRB wanting to investigate the insane amount of unfair labor practices that would probably result from such an arrangement. A lot of club owners think that they're beyond the law, and I doubt most are well-versed in labor law.

The union will tell you that they support live music performance by using MPTF money. That's "Musicians Performance Trust Fund" which is a fund administered by the AFM. However, despite the assertion that it's union money, it's money funded by the broadcast and recording industry, not union money. And to use MPTF funds, you can't charge anything. So, if you play a fund-raiser for The American Red Cross, you can't use MPTF funds to pay the musicians. But, if the BA's friend wants to have a band at a party, they can use MPTF funds. The effect was that it lowered the going rate for private parties. The person wanting a band for a backyard party could call the union and only have to put up half of scale to get a band, and the trust fund paid the other half of scale. So you could get a band for only $90 for three hours.

That's a very interesting arrangement. I never knew about that.

[JTE]

Well, it wouldn't take NLRB action. If the bar staff was union, and the unions worked together then the bar couldn't hire non-union musicians because the wait-staff would strike too. But the bottom line is that the model for the AFM is pretty far removed from real-world gigging. I liken it to the difference between trade and labor unions. A contractor can call the hall for a union plumber and get someone who they can have some confidence that they know how to plumb. And the union teaches people how do the job, so there's an advantage for everyone.

But in a typical labor union, the company that hires the employee teaches them the job so a union welder at a car plant is no more useful to the company than a non-union welder, so what the point? The AFM won't certify that anyone is a better musician than others, it's just a list of players. So the band leader doesn't have any real incentive to hire an AFM member than to hire a non-union member, except for the potential to avoid interference if the local is so inclined.

John

[velvetkevorkian]

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

When I was a full-time pro I was a member of the British Musicians Union. I can't say I ever got any work out of it - that's not what they do. In fact when I first started,my mother called them and said "my son wants to get into the Business, can you help" and they said the business is run on "word of mouth and who you know", so no.

In the UK they do Car insurance 'cos most companies won't touch musicians (seriously). There was an advertising campaign here that featured Iggy Pop - what they didn't say was that they wouldn't insure him, if he applied!!.

However, they have (or did have) "clout" in certain areas - theatres, the BBC and other big entertainment companies. I did a well paid summer season 'cos they had to pay union rates (Pontin's Holiday Camp).

I don't know how they are on resolving disputes, but I used to enjoy reading up the Blacklist in the newsletter to see which agent/bandleader I used to work for was on it this time !!.

However, going to Union meetings you're going to meet other musicians and the more contacts u can make the better.

Finally, you used to get a discount on the door at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London!!

You also get free gear insurance (up to about £2k) and public liability insurance (for about £2 million!) IIRC. They can also provide advice on contracts etc.

[mongo2]

VSTU Local 12

[Wally Malone]

Nite Clubs, hotels & restuarants are not considered employers by labor law. That is why you don't see collective bargaining agreements for these venues. Picketing and boycotts would be considered secondary and therefore illegal.

There are a number of benefits one can get from the AFM. The website is www.afm.org. Most locals have their own pages and as someone above has already mentioned it is good to check out the local in your area.

Wally

[ggunn]

As others have said, it really depends where you are. Here in Austin there is a union; it's good for networking but enforcing scale is a joke. If you aren't a known draw, a lot of the time you'll play for free or not at all.

I hear that in New Orleans it's a different story.

[bassybill]

In Britain, I'm sorry to say that being in the MU is now pretty much totally pointless for most musicians. I was a member for a long time, but stopped paying my subs a few years back when I realised I was getting zero - and I do mean ZERO - benefits from membership. It's not really the Union's fault, it's just the prevailing economic and political climate.