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Wage Scales Go Up...Why Should I care?

Local 655 minimum wage scales rose on June 1, and members should make note of the new rates. Members adopted these rates as a bottom line, a necessary floor if we hope to make a living as professional musicians. We together have decided that working below these rates kills good jobs and creates a race to the bottom that makes it impossible for us to earn a living as professional musicians.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) has said, "The much-touted virtues of flexibility, independence, and creativity offered by gig work might be true for some workers under some conditions, but for many, the gig economy is simply the next step in a losing effort to build some economic security in a world where all the benefits are floating to the top 10%...Long before anyone ever wrote an article about the 'gig economy,' corporations had discovered the higher profits they could wring out of an on-demand workforce made up of independent contractors."

By denying ourselves fair wages, we allow those above us to ruthlessly profit off of our labors. By holding firm, we ensure that we will receive a fair piece of the pie. Only by working together to hold the line can we make sure that there will be a career path for future generations of musicians.

We ask you to do your part. Ask what a gig pays before you accept the work. Make sure you know what minimum scale is...wage scale charts are available on our website at http://www.afm655.org/scales . Thank you in advance for your support of music as a profession and not just a hobby.

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I've heard it so many times… "If I don't do it, someone will"… musicians working for $75, $100, because it's 'better than nothing'. But if we're willing to work for such low rates, why would anyone ever pay us more? We must take a stand together to stop our own self destructive behavior

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