Newsletter Archives: August 1999

08/01/99 Symphonic Shorts

Palm Beach Opera Contract Update

Palm Beach Opera musicians are in the final stages of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. A year ago, who would have thought that this would be happening?

How did they get there? It took a year of hard work on the part of the committee and the Local, educating members on what could be achieved if they stood together. And the primary object of the musicians was not to squeeze every penny out of the Opera, but to earn respect and be treated fairly. The orchestra contributes a great deal to the Opera, and the musicians deserve to be recognized for their work.

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08/01/99 Recording Rap

Attending the AFM convention in Las Vegas was quite an experience. The days were long and it's quite a process debating the merits of each Resolution. I was on the Election Committee and learned first hand the voting procedure of our AFM. We had a great team and were lucky to not get stuck working all night!

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08/01/99 Casual Corner

Doing an MPTF Gig:

That’s it! The Fund mails checks directly to the performers.

08/01/99 Member Feedback

I would like to address the double standard that exists in the recording community. Everyone who does recording sessions with me knows that, for the last 35 years, I have always paid the appropriate pension benefits. Some of you who are receiving monthly pension checks now can attest to this, as will some of you who will be receiving them in the future. Some musicians have even approached me about doing recordings with me so they could participate, not only in the pension fund, but also in special payments and reuse benefits. I am not doing anything extraordinary, this is the way it is supposed to be if you are a federation member.

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08/01/99 Official Business

Meeting Notices:

Bylaw Amendments/Wage Scale Ratification:

Officer Nominations:

Please mark your Calendars now!

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08/01/99 Treasurer's Report

Year

Total Membership

7/1/99

856

7/1/98

786

7/1/97

964

7/1/96

1021

As the chart above shows, we have finally reversed the trend of declining membership. A stable membership base makes it possible for us to provide more service to you; the more members, the less percentage of each members’ dues goes to pay the rent. With the ongoing membership drive and the new CBA’s being negotiated, now is a good time to encourage your colleagues to consider membership. And remember, students and youths can join at reduced rates. So have them give us a call and we’ll fill them in on the benefits of membership!

08/01/99 President's Report

…The recent AFM convention in Las Vegas was much more productive than the one in 1997, which was marked by much division. This convention had a much more positive and forward thinking attitude…

Although much of the agenda put forth by the Investigative Task Force (ITF) wasn’t adopted, some portions of the report were adopted and many other important concepts and ideas were advanced. Like most legislative bodies, it takes time to change things, but I believe the work of the ITF did not go in vain…

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