President's Report
… As this column is written, we are a day away from our next two days of
negotiations with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, a little too early to
discuss any details, except to say I’m hopeful that some meaningful dialogue
will result in a much needed improvement in the CBA. I am very pleased with our
negotiating team, comprised of the Orchestra Committee, our counsel Leonard
Leibowitz, and consultant William Thompson …
While on the subject of the FPO,
congratulations to Shannon Wood (timpani) & Kristen Haley (flute) who
recently won their respective auditions … I was recently in Tulsa for the
Southern Conference of AFM Locals, and we were treated to an excellent
presentation by Paul McCarthy on ways to implement the AFM’s mission
statement, including educating members on the advantages of membership.
Certainly, that is an objective the Federation is attempting to meet by use of
seminars and conferences. Lisa Fox, our VP, just returned from an Electronic
Media Conference as well as one regarding labor unions in general. One point
that I made as strongly as possible at the Southern Conference, was that as
successful as the Millennium Drive is expected to be, I felt that the AFM missed
an extremely large target of potential members by holding the drive during the
month of July when the universities and colleges were out of session, and
strongly urged them to consider a special membership drive during the school
year … Our pension fund, and I stress the word our, has just announced a 7%
increase in benefits. Anyone who isn’t taking advantage of this benefit is
truly missing the point of a "union." This is the second increase
recently, and as well as this fund is being handled, I wouldn’t be surprised
to see another increase next year … A new Internet Agreement has just been
ratified (1,681 to 101), by the symphony musicians voting on this issue. There
is a more detailed article on page four, but suffice to say, this is at the very
least a pro-active approach by the musicians to affect their futures … We are
in the planning mode for a new directory for next year. The plan is for a
loose-leaf style which will allow for easier, and less cumbersome updates than
we’ve had in the past … For all the recording musicians in our community, we
are testing a new computer program for filing contracts that allows you click on
the name of the musician and have all of the information entered for you (name,
address, social security, etc.), an enormous time saver. We’ll keep you posted
as we work to get rid of some of the inevitable "bugs" in a new
program … Our IATSE (stagehand) friends at the Broward Center for the
Performing Arts finally have a new contract., after working for over four years
without one. Congratulations! … The SAG/AFTRA strike continues, and this is
something all musicians that are involved with the recording of jingles needs to
pay close attention to. If there is a situation where you can lend support to
the actors, it may help you in the future. If they lose this battle, it could
haunt you in the very near future as it could very well set precedent for the
AFM contracts. We are in this together, please don’t ever forget that! … I’ll
stay in touch; you do the same …
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