“…with liberty and justice for all…”

So much of what the AFM, and all labor unions do, can be contained in that one seemingly simple phrase. We are all constantly engaged in a quest for equal, fair, and just treatment for our members.

Unfortunately, it is often quite a struggle — and the attempted exploitation of musicians and other workers can be nothing short of stomach churning.
But we persist because it is the right thing to do and because musicians deserve to be treated and compensated fairly for their creations.

June was an extremely busy month:

• several meetings of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Executive Board, on which I serve as a vice-president, including two strike sanction meetings for affiliates
• a meeting of the Valley Economic Alliance, a business networking organization, seeking to expand its activities into the entertainment community
• a Pride brunch, the very first event held by Queers United in Entertainment, a newly formed organization supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community. Local 47 joins SAG-AFTRA, the WGA, and IATSE in supporting this very important organization
• a meeting with the Western Council of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors’ Fund), on whose Board I servenegotiations with the Open Fist Theatre Company, the Pasadena Symphony, the San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Academy of Magical Arts, and the Palm Springs Opera Guild
• working to solve matters related to musicians’ employment at the Pantages, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the San Bernardino Symphony

I also attended the new member orientation, followed by the Local 47 Member Mingle, an event that is growing each month. The Member Mingle brings together new members, not yet members, existing members, staff, and officers. Please try to stop by for the next one — I think you’ll be glad you did.

We continue working to create a true coalition of entertainment unions in Los Angeles. To that end, on June 22, Local 47 hosted a rally in our parking lot for the The Animation Guild.

I spoke at the rally about our need for solidarity:

“Hello, Animators, the musicians of AFM Local 47 welcome you!

“Since 1928, with the premiere of Steamboat Willie, animators and musicians have together been creating a very special and magical art form. An art form that has delighted and fascinated me my entire life, beginning with my early childhood devotion to Yogi, Boo Boo, and Huckleberry Hound.

“As of this morning, the highest grossing film of 2024 is ‘Inside Out 2,’ a product of this most magnificent collaboration — animation and music.

“But it is not only in the creation of artistic products that our collaboration can produce miracles. For when unions come together and align our demands and agendas, nothing is impossible.

“In the last year, we have seen an unprecedented solidarity among the unions in the entertainment industry — a solidarity that took employers and shareholders by surprise, as it unfolded on the streets of Hollywood, right before their eyes.

“When the WGA, and then SAG-AFTRA, and then the AFM all won historical agreements with significant gains, management began to realize that something big had happened.

“And indeed, something big had happened. The creators of the most important product manufactured in this country — a product the rest of the world clamors for — had begun to work together.

“We have discovered the power of solidarity, not just within our own unions, but in the joining together of all the Hollywood unions, as we demand dignity, respect, and the recognition of our true value.

“And so we go forward, shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other, never tiring — for in
solidarity lies infinite strength.”

Happy Independence Day!

Stephanie

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