Our presence at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis has resulted in eight (8) new members!

We welcome Nick Annis, Stephen Lee Rich, David Stoddard, Andy Cohen, Gina Forsyth, Lisa Markley, Lara Ewen and Joel Rafael to membership in our local and will encourage them to begin making use of member benefits to further their careers as soon as possible!

We also welcome Chuck Pyle and Gary Toporoski who joined around the Holidays, and a hearty welcome back to Christ Courtney who is reinstated!

Local 1000 member Utah Phillips has been experiencing a health crisis over the past month or so. You can find out how he’s doing and pass along good wishes at a blog by his son Duncan Phillips at:

http://www.utahphillips.blogspot.com

At our September 2007 membership meeting, Local 1000 adopted a new policy, which makes it more economical for bands to join our union. An international bylaw change at the AFM Convention last summer makes this deal possible. Each band member still must join as an individual, but if all members join at the same time, none of them pay the initiation fee (normally $100). If some members already belong to Local 1000, the rest can join at the same time without paying initiation.

This past May the AFM (American Federation of Musicians) ended its boycott of Delta Airlines when the carrier agreed to accept guitars and “other smaller instruments” as carry-on baggage. We hope this new policy becomes a template for other airlines.

Delta has published this policy on its website at:
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/special_baggage/fragile_bulky/musical_instruments/index.jsp

Do you fly with instruments? We recommend that you print out this page from Delta’s site, and carry it with you, just in case you need it on Delta, and also to show as an example to other airlines.

Local 1000 President John McCutcheon says, “We encourage our members, if they fly Delta, to thank every Delta employee they see (while the employees don’t make these policies, they’re our gateway to management, who does); and we encourage members to ask other airlines why they are not following Delta’s example.

Congratulations to both the AFM and to Delta for this victory!

The campaign to nominate Local 1000 member Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize continues.  With about 6 months to go, over 6900 people have signed the petition urging the American Friends Service Committee to submit the nomination.
To learn more and sign a petition go to:

http://www.petitionthem.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=3774&page=1#sigs

Then pass the word — and the link — to everyone you know!

Security and a Fair Deal for Folk Artists

We all know that performers on the folk circuit lead precarious lives, struggling to obtain health care, pensions and other benefits. Touring artists work for a myriad of employers who contribute little toward their security beyond a check or a wad of cash for an evening’s performance. These artists, who provide us with joy and inspiration, face uncertain futures, never knowing when financial disaster might strike.

All too often we come together at benefit concerts for performers fallen on hard times, ill fortune or bad health.

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has one of the best pension plans available anywhere. It enables musicians to retire, if they choose, without facing poverty. But this essential benefit has only been accessible to a minority of musicians, mostly recording industry session players and symphonic musicians. Fair Folk is a way to change all that. Fair Folkis a campaign to urge employers — clubs, concert producers, folk societies and other venues — to provide security for those who bring us the music and entertainment we love so much, simply by paying a small cost for each performance. By signing onto a universal collective bargaining agreement, and becoming a “covered” venue, an employer can provide pension benefits to every folk artist who plays that venue. It’s a simple but bold idea. The costs are miniscule and the benefits are legion. And there is no better time to start than now.

… Imagine a world in which folk performers collect a fair pension upon retirement.

… Imagine a world in which a performer, disabled in mid-career, receives a disability pension guaranteed for life.

With Fair Folk we can accomplish this goal within a few short years! But we need the support of a united folk music community — musicians, presenters and folk enthusiasts alike.

If you are musician or performer who works on the folk circuit, please download this petition, sign and send to Local 1000. If you have questions or would like to help us collect signatures, call the Local 1000 office or email us.

AFM Local 1000 Executive Board: John McCutcheon, Tret Fure, John O’Connor, Ken Whiteley, Linda Allen, Karen Brandow, Alice Gerrard, Joe Jencks, Deborah Van Kleef.

To add your name to the petition, please download this petition, and circulate among your colleagues.

Return signed petitions to the Local 1000 office. Thank you.