Allegro

Currently Browsing: July, 2005

ABT Agrees to Ban Machine as Part of New Contract
Jay Blumenthal
Musicians in the American Ballet Theatre are now the first resident orchestra at Lincoln Center to have a ban on the virtual orchesta machine in their contract. Pictured are bassoonists Bernadette Zirkuli and Cy Segal. See below for more pictures

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The AFM Futures Committee
David Lennon
EMERGENCY RECOMMENDATION NO. 8 The AFM Futures Committee was established by order of the delegates of the AFM’s 95th biennial convention of 2003, through the adoption of Emergency Recommendation No. 8. The Recommendation put in place a comprehensive financial package

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Mary Donovan
If you’ve ever grumbled about paying union dues, consider this. Part of 802’s job is to assist and represent members when they feel they were mistreated. Most recently, percussionist Ed Uribe won a $23,000 grievance because an employer failed to

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Lynne Bond
And in the end, there were six Tony awards to… “The Light in the Piazza,” which proved to be worth every penny that was spent on hiring more live musicians (see last month’s Allegro). While Lincoln Center had previously extended

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Ruling Affirms Right to Unemployment Payments
In an important decision for New York musicians, the state’s unemployment insurance review board has upheld musicians’ status as employees, thus maintaining their eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. The lengthy ruling by the board reversed an earlier decision denying unemployment

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Recording musicians spoke their minds at the May 11 meeting with the International Executive Board, which was the first time 802 members met face-to-face with the AFM’s leadership. As reported in last month’s Allegro, the hottest topic at the meeting

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Jacob Heyman-Kantor
In late May, the Goldman Memorial Band decided to cancel the 2005 summer season and cease operations entirely. Management chose to shut down operations after band members voted to reject an extremely concessionary offer. The offer included cutting the band

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Organizing Matters
Rob Susman
Rob Susman (center, holding trombone) with members of the Symphonic Brass Alliance. In this month’s organizing column, we hear from a member who is also an employer. It may seem strange to think about workers who are also bosses, but

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Legal Corner
Harvey Mars, Esq.
Let’s say you own a restaurant and you want to have recorded music playing in the background. Can you? If you wrote the music yourself, then you own the copyright. Otherwise, you generally need to get permission, otherwise known as

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Musicians' Assistance Program
Cindy Green, LCSW
Musicians are athletes. Exercising your body is vital to successfully producing intricate and professional sounds in performance. Like any athlete, a musician is at risk for injury. This month, we’ll look at repetitive stress injuries and what you can do

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Guest Commentary
Assemblyman Denny Farrell
802 members Hank Jones (top) and Jimmy Owens performed with Slide Hampton in Albany. My father was a dress designer who taught himself how to play the piano by ear and would play for his own amusement. Because of his

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Beat on the Street
  The state AFL-CIO is supporting the creation of five casinos in Monticello, New York. Casino gambling can bring with it employment – potentially, employment for musicians. Do you support casino gambling in New York? Of the 80 responses Allegro

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K.C. Boyle
Barry White (1944-2003) during a live concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1975. Check out the live orchestra! (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images) When producers of “Priscilla” say that disco plus live strings doesn’t work, they are

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Ray Hair
Ray Hair is president of AFM Local 72-147 (Dallas-Fort Worth) and is a member of the AFM’s International Executive Board. He chairs the AFM’s Casino Industry Study Committee. He can be reached at rhair@musiciansDFW.org. When the citizens of New Jersey

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Leo Ball
Bill Potts with granddaughter Meg (left) and daughter Christi. Potts, 75, passed away on Feb. 15. My dear friend Bill Potts, 75, passed away on Feb. 15. Outrageous, bigger than life, self-destructive, but with an I.Q. through the roof, Bill

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Pete Seeger, a lifelong 802 member and the dean of folk music, was celebrated on May 21 at the Community Church of New York on East 35th Street. Pete’s legendary band, the Weavers, was also honored by a tribute band,

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802 member Larry Ham swings in Bryant Park. Local 802 and the MPF are funding live music in Bryant Park all summer. See www.BryantPark.org. Photo by Mikael Elsila.  

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"Concerted Activity" and Labor LawLocal 802 Legal Corner
Harvey Mars, Esq.
At the very heart of the National Labor Relations Act is Section 7, which states, in pertinent part the following: Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of

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Musicians' Assistance Program
Leslie Cardell, LCSW
We’ve all become accustomed to checking out the sale racks when we’re shopping for clothes or trying to talk down the price of that great chair at the local flea market. When it comes to medical bills however, we often

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Diana Cohn
On October 29, the Recording Musicians Committee hosted a discussion with Wendell Hanes, award-winning producer and composer of advertising music. Hanes presented ideas from his book, “The 30-30 Career: Making 30 Grand in 30 Seconds Producing Music for Commercials” to

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For the October 2005 Membership Meeting
Whereas: Benefits under the Members Legal Services Fund should more closely reflect the actual cost for contract negotiations and, Whereas: Recent revisions have increased the cap on benefits for eligible bargaining units and Whereas: the per member formula should be

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Allegro won three awards in the annual labor journalism contest sponsored by the Metropolitan New York Labor Communications Council, an umbrella group made up of labor newspapers in New York City. Allegro won: Honorable mention for an interview Allegro editor

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802 Promotes Live Music on Labor Radio
Local 802 has joined forces with Air America and Worker Independent News (WIN) to launch radio spots to promote live music and advocate for the rights of musicians in New York. WIN is an independent radio service that was created

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As reported in April’s Allegro, Local 802 has become the newest member of the New York Working Families Party (WFP). A minor party with a major impact, the WFP forcefully injects the issues of working-class, middle-class and poor people into

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This summer, an amendment will be introduced on the floor of the Senate that will increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2006 budget by $5 million. Many professional musicians and music organizations around the country depend on

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Heather Beaudoin
RAISE THAT MINIMUM WAGE! Senators Clinton and Kennedy introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 which will raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in three steps: 70 cents two months after enactment, 70 cents one year after

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New York Collegium. For an April 15 concert, the employer canceled a number of rehearsals with less than seven days’ notice, a violation of Collegium’s CBA with the union. Concert Rep Jacob Heyman-Kantor contacted the employer and filed a grievance.

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April 1, 2005 -- April 5, 2005
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2005 Meeting called to order at 11: 15 a.m. Present: President Lennon, Recording Vice President Dennison, Financial Vice President Blumenthal, Executive Board members Babich, Gale, Schaffner, Whitaker, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Delia and Jazz Advisory

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Bill Crow
Lyricist Jack Segal, who died in California last February, was one of my first New York friends. Dave Lambert introduced us. Jack’s most well-known songs are “Scarlet Ribbons,” When Sunny Gets Blue,” “When Joanna Loved Me,” and “Here’s to the

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