Greetings, Local 47 members!
Membership Dues + Work Dues = Operating Budget
Our Local’s income is derived from two sources, membership and work dues. Your timely payments of both are essential to the operations of your union. Year after year we are facing rising costs, from insurance to utilities while revenues are barely keeping pace. Plan on attending the next General Membership meeting on Monday, April 27th at 7:30 p.m. here at the local for information on finances and more. This meeting will be in person only due to elections of Hearing Board Officers.
Our annual Membership Drive starts on April 1 and runs through June 30. During this three-month period all initiation fees, both Federation and Local, are waived resulting in a savings of $140 for first time members. Please join us in promoting this great opportunity by sharing this information with your colleagues and students. See our website, www.afm47.org/join for more information.
Speaking of membership, if you haven’t yet paid your 2026 dues then your account may have already been suspended. Please login to ensemble.afm47.org to make sure that your membership dues are current. Email membership@afm47.org if you have any questions.
Our Local currently spends between $450 and $500 every week on mailing work dues statements. We urge you to help us conserve both money and natural resources by switching to paperless statements. Currently, only a few hundred musicians have made this important change.
With Earth Day on April 22nd approaching, there’s no better time to honor our planet’s limited resources by making the switch. (https://www.earthday.org/)
It’s easy to opt-in! Simply log into your E2 account and select “I want to receive work dues statements by email.” Send us a message at E2help@afm47.org for assistance.
What can you do?
Participate
Stay informed about your union by making sure that you are signed up for electronic communications. We send a bi-weekly e-blast, The 47 Beat, with news that may have developed since the Overture was published on the first of the month. Follow us, AFM 47, on social media, Facebook and Instagram, for news about your local.
Attend quarterly General Membership meetings and participate in your union’s democracy. We are facing a number of challenges and need your input.
Stand Up for Labor
The unionized workforce is under nationwide attack from the current administration in Washington, D.C. Last year, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were stripped of their rights to collective bargaining. As I write this, our federal government is shut down for the second time this year leaving workers unpaid as they must go to work.
Closer to home, our LA County Federation of Labor is calling on all of us to unite and take to the streets on May Day to show that workers are rising. This mass mobilization on Thursday, May 1st, starts at 10 a.m. at Parkview and Wilshire Blvd. We will send out more information as it becomes available.
Hope
The belief that we can all make a difference in our world, no matter how small the contribution may seem, is what sustains me. That’s why I participated in a neighborhood cleanup called “Shine LA” in Koreatown last month. That’s why I was at a No Kings Rally this past weekend. That’s why I will be at the May Day Parade. That’s why I will be at the West Hollywood Post Office on May 9th as part of the Letter Carriers Food Drive.
You too can make a difference. Watch for more information in the 47 Beat for volunteer opportunities and other ways that you can make a difference.
Author Mariame Kaba wrote,
“Dear young organizer/activist,
Some people seem to think of hope as “wishful thinking”. For me, it’s not that at all. Rather, because I don’t know how things will turn out, I choose to take action in the direction that I want to influence. I devote my efforts to making what I want to happen actually happen. Nothing can happen if we don’t take action.”
In unity,
Gail Kruvand
Secretary-Treasurer