The Musicians Union

Basics-101

by Bruce Fife

In late August, the American Federation of Musicians, Local 99, received a visit from a representative of the Music Liberation Project. We were invited to write a piece describing the union, our history, where we are at now, and where we hope to go. Though it’s a great opportunity, it is also a near impossible task to distill it all down in a single article. Let me try to walk you through an abbreviated version, the highlights, try to dispel some of the myths, and share one officer’s view of the future.

A charter to start a musician’s trade union was granted from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1896. Local 99, Portland, Oregon, was chartered 3 years later, in 1899. During that 100+ year history, we have witnessed and weathered every significant change in the music industry.

The glory days of the Federation were from the Thirties through the Sixties when we were one of the most powerful unions in the nation, boasting a membership of over 300,000 in the United States and Canada. Our membership now stands at roughly 100,000. This decline can be traced to numerous causes. Unions, in general, received immense negative publicity from the 50’s on, some of which was legitimate. Powerful corporate leaders, in league with anti-labor politicians, began dismantling the American labor movement, beginning with the Taft-Hartley Act in the ‘40’s. That battle continues today, as we have in place one of the most anti-union administrations that has ever existed. Additionally, when rock and roll came on the scene, the union did not embrace it as a legitimate musical art form. That created a division that took years to overcome. Technology, of course, also played a role in the elimination of musical work, and hence members.

The last major decline began in the late ‘70’s. Two major adverse rulings by the Federal Government and the courts proved to be very destructive for the union and musicians alike. Due to those changes, the union lost the control it had had over the club scene. Previous to this change, it was pretty much required that you be in the union to perform, so consequently, over 80% of working musicians were members. With the loss of control created by the new rulings, many players, who didn’t appreciate the heavy hand with which the union controlled the workplace, began to exit. I’m sure there was some abuse of power, but the goal, always, was to keep wages and working conditions at a high level. A direct correlation can be drawn from the changes that took place then, to the current state of conditions that create the “working for the door”, “pay to play”, or the other onerous schemes that allow club owners to not pay musicians a fair and equitable wage. Ironically, it was during this time that I first attempted to join the union and was turned away because I didn’t read music—and played rock’n’roll.

On the positive side, it’s fascinating to take a historical look at the many actions taken by the Union to protect musicians’ livelihoods. In the early 1900’s, resolutions were passed to protect domestic bands from being usurped by foreign bands. The process of setting scales for the great variety of work was begun. A campaign was waged against the “Prohibition Amendment” and the union was “unalterably opposed to all so-called blue laws”. Technology has always been fought, initially, due to the job loss that always accompanies it. Jobs were lost to the radio, movies (those damn talkies), sound recordings, and in the most recent example, Internet downloading. The foundation of the union has always been live music, so anything that has threatened that has been challenged.

James Petrillo was arguably the most powerful president in Federation history, serving through the ‘40’s and 50’s. One of his most significant feats was the 2-year strike against the recording industry in the ‘40’s. He was convinced that when musicians made phonograph records, they were playing for their own funerals. The strike ended when the industry agreed to share in the responsibility for the unemployment caused by sound recordings. They accomplished this by contributing royalties from record sales to a fund that would employ musicians for admission-free, live public performances. The fund, the Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds, continues to this day and is the largest single employer of live music in the world.

The most recent public power struggle was the strike on Broadway, New York City, last March. Actors and stagehands refused to cross the musicians’ picket lines as they shut down Broadway for four days. Management was trying to bring virtual orchestras (technology, again) into the pit, eliminating musicians jobs. Imagine no live musicians in a Broadway musical. There were some concessions in the negotiations, but the union was successful in keeping minimums up and the virtual orchestras out. For now.

So that brings us to today. The American Federation of Musicians of the US and Canada is still the largest organization in the world dedicated to representing the interests of all professional musicians (including rockers). There are two distinctive components to the union. The first is the religion. Unionism. Solidarity. The stated mission goals that have been in place for years. We believe in the rights of musicians to live and work in dignity; for our work to be fulfilling and fairly compensated; to have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect us; to have the opportunity to develop our talents and skills; and to oppose the forces of exploitation through our union solidarity. That’s a mouthful, but it really boils down to (1) you should be paid fairly for your work and (2) you should be treated with respect. You may believe that as a musician, this is art, not work. Though we are artists, as soon as we leave the confines of our living room or studio and set up to play in a “for profit” club, it is work, and we deserve to be treated fairly.

Many important tasks take place within this first component of the union. This is where we organize and negotiate contracts. Locally, we negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBA’s), with and for the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, and the Oregon Ballet, among others. Nationally, the Federation has national agreements in place with the record companies, the movie and television industries, advertising agencies, even a new agreement that can be used for video games.

Additionally, the Federation takes on the political fights. We are in the heart of the battle against the Federal Communications Commissions’ (FCC) attempt to relax their rules, the effect being the expansion of media consolidation. The long-term effect of these rule changes could be to bounce thousands of musicians off the airwaves. We lost the first round, but have won the next, as a federal appeals court is temporarily blocking the FCC from putting their new rules into place until more studies can be done. Other issues that are currently at play are creating more friendly, post 9/11, airline industry standards for musical instrument carry-on, gaining webcasting and XM Radio royalties for musicians, and fighting the scourge of illegal downloads, one of the toughest battles musicians have ever faced. On the local political front, the union has been the only organization directly representing musicians, since the beginning, in the battle with the OLCC regarding the ban on minor entertainers. Due in part to that work, Local 99 is now a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the OLCC. Though the legal system moves slowly, this seems to be the best course of action to have this unconstitutional ruling overturned.

The second major component of the union is as a service organization. This is where member benefits can be found. Included here is a job referral line, all-risk musical instrument insurance, gig contract protection, a free rehearsal hall, pension fund, scholarships, and miscellaneous other services, including a variety of insurance policies and benefits available through our association with the AFL-CIO. Included, also, is the benefit of networking with a wide variety of professional musicians. Got a question about the business? Need to find a musician? The officers and staff can help steer you in the right direction.

The cost of all this is very reasonable. There is a one-time initiation fee of $85.00. The cost after that is $38.00 per quarter, less if you pay for the full year in January. The only other cost is “work dues”, a small percentage based on the work that you do.

So where do we go from here? The first question I always hear from musicians when we talk about the union is, “What can the union do for me?” The question should be, “What can we, as a union, accomplish?” The union is not the officers or Federation. It is the members. They choose the direction. They elect the officers and pass resolutions. Though no organization is without its faults, we improve it by being a part of, not outside of, the organization. Because of that type of involvement, our Local in Portland is considered to be one of the most progressive in the Federation.

As bad as the music business is now, if there were no American Federation of Musicians, it would be worse. All aspects of the business could be as bad as the club scene is now. And we know it’s bad. How do we turn it around? The answer is simple; the process is very hard. We organize. We decide that we’re not going to take it any more. We get all the musicians working at a particular club or group of clubs to agree to set a minimum standard, wages and conditions, and through solidarity, we force a reversal in directions. We get back to where musicians are paid for their performances. If you’re thinking that it’ll never happen, you can prove yourself right by making no effort to change this pathetic set of circumstances. The club owner has to guarantee a certain minimum wage to the bartenders, waitresses, doormen, beer distributors, etc, but the musicians, the reason people walk in the door, get no minimum. It obviously is not right, but it will not stop until musicians make it stop.

I would like to invite anyone ready to work towards change to join me in an open meeting at the union hall to discuss this strategy. You can come and call me crazy. Tell me what makes sense and what doesn’t. The only way to change this scene is to join together, create a dialogue, and move forward as a group large enough to get some attention. We need to educate the public, the consumer, and of course, the club owner. It’s time to get off our butts, and turn this bus around. Contact me at (503) 235-8791 or bfife@afm99.org.

-Bruce Fife
President, Local 99, AFM