Trustee's Report
We have a lot of work ahead of us. Traditions have to be broken and old policies have to be changed. In some instances, it is a simple movement forward, in others it will mean change or lose what we still have left. There is some unfortunate history to overcome; however, I'm happy to see that almost everyone I have talked with has expressed an open mind and is willing to commit their support in giving the Local one more chance to become one that can and should be ranked among the top ten Locals in the AFM.
Since our last edition of South Florida Musician quite a few things have happened. We’ve had two general membership meetings with good turnouts. Here are the highlights of what’s happened:
Successful uniting of two Locals, including a
New name
CBA’s negotiated and ratified
Scales are up
Organization of Life Members
Computers upgraded for better service
Bylaws changed to improve and guarantee service
Tenure challenge thwarted
New beginnings for Referral Program
Membership Directory approaching printer’s deadline
We were sad to see Local 806 having to close it's doors, but we look upon this as an opportunity to form a new, restructured local of the combined memberships comprising musicians from the entire south Florida area; hence the new name, South Florida Musicians Association.
Referral program
We are in the process of building a referral program that draws on the best programs used by other Locals from around the country. But we need "the Poop" on your group or yourself; send us a promo pack if you have one, or call us.
Symphony
In January we completed contract negotiations with the Miami Chamber Symphony which resulted in a 3% increase in wages and saw the pension contribution increase to 8.75%, among other things. Additionally, we are now programming a computer system to monitor symphony payrolls to ensure musicians are properly paid.
Working in conjunction with the Orchestra Committee of the Boca Pops, we recently prevailed at a tenure nonrenewal hearing, succeeding in protecting the musician's tenure status.
Electronic Media
We have begun a concentrated effort on improving communications and providing better service in all aspects of the recording business. We signed several new, local companies to AFM Phonograph and Commercial Announcement Agreements. One of these companies is doing work in the area for a major AAAA’s Ad Agency, and another is in the midst of a project for Sony Records.
We plan in the near future to have a series of music business seminars for member/players and local production companies; each will focus on a specific medium; for example: types of phonograph recordings... commercial announcement packaging...underscoring documentary films for Motion Picture and Broadcast.
Casual/Club
We have a LOT of work to do. This area has been ignored for far too long. Few contracts have been filed, and, as a result, members miss out not only on the obvious benefits such as the guarantee of payment, but also the less obvious ones such as pension (more on that in a future newsletter) and, as a recent incident brought to light, protection in the event the live performance is recorded for broadcast. We are taking our time to be sure our research on this industry is complete before presenting an entirely new program of services for "casual musicians." Not only are we focusing on protecting the "gig" and ensuring pension contributions, we are also looking to increase job opportunities.
Life members
We have started a new organization known as the Miami Area Life Members Association. Starting with a nucleus group, MALMA first met in March at an IHOP in Hollywood, where they communicated their thoughts and ideas to us. Additionally, this enabled us to get feedback on our plans for restructuring the Local from a Life-Member's view. MALMA is now well on it's way; their second meeting was held in April, and with a volunteer committee working with the assistance of Mike Selker, they are now a fully self-run entity.
Theater
We have negotiated and ratified a new 3-year agreement with PTG-FL. New scales and conditions include wage increases of 3%, pension increase to 7%, and doubling fees being based on a percentage of wages.
It’s your union
We need volunteer part-time participants to help assist us in data entry, news clipping, mass mailings, etc. This is your organization, and we need you to help us keep it strong.
Get involved!
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