Local 47 General Election

AFM Local 47 Triennial General Election

AFM Local 47 General Elections take place every three years. The next General Election for the AFM Local 47 Executive Board, Hearing Board, and AFM Convention Delegates takes place on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.

Nominations will be called for:
President (1)
Vice President (1)
Secretary/Treasurer (1)
Trustees (3)
Directors (6)
Hearing Board (7)
AFM Convention Delegates (3)
First Alternate Delegate (1)
Second Alternate Delegate (1)

Officer salaries for 2026 may be subject to change due to the Salary Review Board report to be presented at the October 2025 General Membership Meeting. The actual number of Local 47 AFM Convention Delegates allowed for the 2026 AFM Convention is determined by the number of members of the Local as of December 31, 2025 (AFM Federation Bylaws Article 17, Sections 4(a) and 4(d)).

Get involved in your Union’s democratic process! Be sure to review important information on nominating, campaigning, and voting below, as well as how to run for office for all members interested. To review the Local 47 Bylaws, you may access them in the members-only section of the Local 47 website, ensemble.afm47.org (click the “Documents” button), or contact the Secretary/Treasurer’s Office at st_sec@afm47.org or 323.993.3159 to request a hard copy. (If you have not yet logged in to our new system, please click here for instructions.) Should you have any questions about the election please contact a member of the Election Board. Only members of the Election Board — no Local 47 officers or staff members — are authorized to answer any questions concerning the election.

Local 47 Election Board:
Paul Castillo (Chair): pcklar@earthlink.net
Helen Crosby: midlfdl@earthlink.net
Gerardo Guzman: dj@camusicgroup.com
Kris Mettala: krmettala@yahoo.com
Nancy Roth: concertnancer@yahoo.com
Clifford Tasner: taztunes@adelphia.net

In order to ensure your eligibility to vote, please be sure your membership is in good standing well in advance of payment due dates! Semi-Annual Membership Dues are due July 1, 2025 and must be paid by September 30, 2025 (within the 90-day grace period) to avoid suspension. Please call if you need to verify your eligibility. Members with Work Dues delinquencies in excess of $500 have 30 days following the date of the Executive Board meeting at which hearing action is taken to avoid suspension. Dues may be paid online at afm47.org/dues or by calling 323.993.3116.

Stay tuned for further notices and refer to this web page for updates about the voting process pertaining to the AFM Local 47 Election on December 9, 2025. Members with an email on file will receive election updates via email, and those whose emails are not on file or who have opted out of electronic notifications will receive printed announcements by mail. To be sure to get the latest news most quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively, please update your email address on file at ensemble.afm47.org. Please be sure your mailing and email addresses are current. Now would be a good time to do that!

Eligibility for Office

To be nominated for any office a member must have been in continuous good standing for a period of 365 calendar days immediately preceding October 1 in any election year. To hold any office, a member must have been in continuous good standing for the period of 365 days immediately preceding the scheduled date of installation of office at the Inaugural Meeting on January 13, 2026. It is possible that a member may have been suspended during the prior 365 days and not know — for example, late payment of dues. No member shall hold nor accept nomination for more than one office, although they may additionally accept nomination for and hold the position of Delegate or Alternate Delegate. However, members nominated for the offices of President, Vice President, or Secretary/Treasurer shall not be eligible to accept separate nomination for Delegate or Alternate Delegate. Further, candidates for President, Vice President, or Secretary/Treasurer, because those officers are automatically Delegates, shall not appear separately on the ballot as Delegate (see Bylaw Article IX, Section 2).

Nominating Petitions Available August 1st

Nominating petitions for the upcoming General Election are available from the Secretary/Treasurer’s office as of August 1, 2025. To request a petition, members may fill out the online Nominating Petition Request Form (to be posted on this web page August 1) or contact the Secretary’s Office at st_sec@afm47.org or 323.993.3159. All completed nominating petitions with at least 50 signatures from members in good standing must be delivered to the Secretary’s Office, in exchange for a signed and dated receipt, no later than 4:45 p.m. on September 15, 2025. Please do so early. Members on a slate need only file one petition. Further instructions will be provided to those who request a petition.

Policy Governing Eligibility to Vote

1. All Local 47 members who are in good standing as of 4:45 p.m. (close of business) on December 8, 2025 — the last business day prior to the General Election — are eligible to cast a ballot. However, members are encouraged to be in good standing well in advance of this deadline.

2. Any Local 47 member who has been suspended or expelled for the non-payment of dues, or wishing to reinstate within one year of resignation, shall have until 4:45 p.m. on December 8, 2025 by which to clear the delinquency and return to full good-standing status in order to be eligible to cast a ballot.

3. New members, or those rejoining after having resigned or been expelled more than one year ago, must complete and submit a membership application and membership dues payment no later than December 1, 2025 by 4:45 p.m., so that their membership may be approved at the Local 47 Executive Board meeting the Tuesday prior to the General Election. All applicable fees apply. (Note: The Local reserves the right to refer applications of all persons seeking reinstatement from resignation to the International Executive Board per Article 9, Section 19 of the Federation’s Bylaws.)

4. Life Members in good standing may vote in the Local 47 General Election. Inactive Life Members, who pay a reduced membership fee, are not eligible to vote per Local 47 Bylaws. Inactive Life Members wishing to vote may do so by changing their membership status to Life Member by contacting the Membership Department at 323.993.3116 and completing the process by 4:45 p.m. on December 8, 2025. All applicable fees apply.

Prohibited Campaigning Directive

The use of Local 47 resources, or the resources of ANY other union or employer — whether hiring musicians or not — by any candidate or member, for the purpose of campaigning for or against any candidate for office in the Local 47 election, is prohibited by the Local’s Bylaws and is also a violation of Federal Law. This prohibition includes the use of facilities, equipment or property (including telephones, stamps and stamp machines, computers, copying machines, and any other equipment or materials), official endorsements, use of union logos and/or letterhead, and any campaign activity done on paid time. Additionally, members are barred by Article IX, Section 13 of the Local 47 Bylaws from collecting nominating petition signatures while on Local 47’s premises. Further, members are prohibited from campaigning at any time while on Local 47’s premises.

However, obtaining signatures on public property (i.e., sidewalks surrounding the Local’s property or off-site locations) IS permissible, as long as those collecting signatures and the members are using unpaid time (e.g., before or after work for any union or employer, or while on an unpaid break). Nothing in the Bylaws prohibits friends/family of a candidate from soliciting signatures on nominating petitions provided they abide by all the rules listed above.

Electronic Communications Policy