The following bylaw resolution is hereby submitted by the Local 802 Executive Board for the Oct. 22 membership meeting. 

STRIKE FUND BYLAW

Whereas, Local 802 has had a Members’ Benefit Strike Fund for many years, and

Whereas, Local 802 has had surpluses in the General Fund in recent years and has paid off the mortgage on the building, thus eliminating the need for the Building Fund, and 

Whereas, the size of the Strike Fund has not been increased from the original amount of $500,000, and 

Whereas, during the recent Local One strike, it became apparent that the Strike Fund must be made larger so that the union can pay meaningful strike benefits at least until members are eligible to collect unemployment in the event of any long work stoppage, and

Whereas, there should be provisions in the bylaws to allow the Strike Fund to grow so that it can better keep up with inflation, and 

Whereas, the need to increase the Strike Fund must be balanced with the needs of the union to organize new workers and to run a balanced budget,

Therefore be it resolved that the Executive Board adopt the following policy:

That the Local 802 Executive Board shall immediately transfer $1,500,000 from the reserves of the General Fund creating a new minimum funding level of $2,000,000 and that, in any year that the Local 802 General Fund has a surplus, up to one half of that surplus be dedicated to the Local 802 Members’ Benefit Strike Fund to the extent that it is needed to keep funding of the Local 802 Strike Fund at a level which would provide seven weeks of strike benefits to five hundred musicians at a weekly dollar amount equivalent to that paid by the New York State Unemployment Fund.

Be it further resolved that the Local 802 bylaws be changed as follows:

Article III – Section 8 Strike Fund

(a) Unchanged

(b) No expenditure shall be made from the Strike Fund except for payment, when so authorized by the Executive Board, of expenses incurred in strikes, lockouts and informational picketing, including payments to individuals serving as pickets or to musicians unemployed as the result of such actions., when no picketing opportunities exist, or for loans to the General Fund, which shall not be permitted to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

(c) At such time as the Strike Fund reaches or exceeds two million dollars ($2,000,000), loans from the Strike Fund to the General Fund shall be permitted in an amount up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per transaction on approval by the Executive Board; the total of such loans shall not exceed four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) in the aggregate at any time.

(d) {Old (c) becomes (d); language unchanged}

(e) In the event that the level of the Members’ Benefit Strike Fund shall fall below $2,000,000 (or such higher figure as shall be established by the transfer of surplus funds from the General Fund over the years), the provisions of Article III, Section 5(a) shall be implemented until the Strike Fund is replenished.

Article III – Section 9 Building Fund: Delete in its entirety.