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Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program

Nine-week Tax Preparation Training Program begins Monday, Oct 23, 2017

Application Deadline: Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017

Looking for a great parallel career to help supplement the earnings from your industry work? Are you detail-oriented? Like numbers? Professional tax preparation might be a good parallel career for you!

The Actors Fund’s Career Center and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program are coming together to offer a free, two-stage Tax Preparation Training Program for entertainment industry professionals. Continue reading →

October 2017 Overture Online: Celebrating Lalo

Overture Online
October 2017

Celebrating Lalo
An 85th Birthday Concert Celebration With a Film Music Legend

Meet the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra
Show your support for #MusiciansofPSO!

RMA Night 2017
Los Angeles recording musicians celebrate Alf Clausen at annual gala

Who Played It Again, Sam?
The three pianists of Casablanca

and more!

The Overture Online app is available FREE @ Apple App Store & Google Play:

Overture Online is optimized for reading via smartphone or tablet. For those without access to a smart device, this issue may be viewed on a web browser (must have flash enabled). Local 47 members may download archived pdf versions from the members section at afm47.org.

In Memoriam: Tom Petty

Photo by Larry Philpot, www.soundstagephotography.com

Member. Guitar
10/20/1950 – 10/2/2017

AFM Local 47 the world in mourning the loss of music icon and longtime Los Angeles musicians’ union member Tom Petty.

His artistry and talents with the Heartbreakers, the Traveling Wilburys, and Mudcrutch made him one of the best-selling musicians of all time and earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Thank you for the music.

New Legislation Seeks to Protect Workers

Bill would ban so-called ‘Right-to-Work’ laws that weaken unions and cripple worker rights

** Update 10/27/2017: The latest meeting between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, held in Virginia Oct. 11-17, ended at an impasse on the basic notion of what a revised version of the 23-year-old agreement should achieve. Canada and Mexico stand by the idea of free trade; the U.S. wants to make it less free, saying that its partners to the north and to the south are benefiting more than the U.S. through access to its huge market. Talks resume Nov. 17 in Mexico City. **

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in September introduced the Protecting Workers and Improving Labor Standards Act to prohibit states from introducing laws that make it harder for workers to form unions and fight for higher wages and better working conditions. Continue reading →

H&W: Get Healthy, Stay Healthy

Professional Musicians & Employer’s Health & Welfare Fund:

Your health matters, to you and to your family.

Getting healthy and staying that way doesn’t have to be complicated.

You can reduce your risk of many health problems by taking care of the basics, like preventive tests and exams and paying attention to your eye health, which might hint at bigger health issues.

Concentrate on these areas to get and keep yourself on track. Continue reading →

Who Played It Again, Sam? The Three Pianists of ‘Casablanca’

by Robert E. Wallace, Ph.D.

On a day in late May of 1942, Michael Curtiz began filming Casablanca on the Warner Brothers lot. That day, two pianists were on set to record the flashback scene set in Montmartre¹, and one of many recordings of Herman Hupfield’s “As Time Goes By.” Later in production, three pianists were present to record the song in the scene in Rick’s Café with Sam singing for Ilsa¹. It remains an open question of just whose piano is heard playing in the film. A popularly held notion is that Dooley Wilson’s friend, Elliot Carpenter, was responsible for these pieces in the released film. The following detailed review shows that a studio musician, Jean Plummer, should get the credit. Continue reading →

AFM Local 47 wins 2017 ILCA Labor Media Awards

AFM Local 47 the proud winner of the following 2017 International Labor Communications Association Labor Media Awards:

Overture Magazine – 1st Place
Visual Communication Awards / Best Design

Overture Online App – 1st Place
Writing Awards / Best Electronic Content

The Local 47 Beat Email Newsletter – 2nd Place
General Excellence / Electronic Publication

Overture Online App – 3rd Place
General Excellence / Electronic Publication

Thanks to the ILCA judges, and to you, our readers!

View our past awards

LA Young Workers meeting: Sept. 26, 2017

Please join us next week to hear from Lauren Perez-Rangel, Organizing Campaign Director for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) as she speaks to us about her success in organizing for the labor movement.

What: Los Angeles Young Workers Committee Meeting

Who: Guest Speaker Lauren Perez-Rangel, SAG-AFTRA Organizing Campaign Director

When: Tuesday, September 26, 6pm

Where: The LA Fed, 2130 James M. Wood, Los Angeles CA 90006

Open to young workers 40 and under and young workers at heart. RSVP to layoungworkers@gmail.com.

5th annual Made In Hollywood Honors for Television

Los Angeles musicians celebrated Emmy-nominated TV shows scored here in L.A. at the 5th annual Made In Hollywood Honors for Television. From left: Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, AFM Local 47 Secretary/Treasurer Gary Lasley, violinist Elizabeth Hedman, and Recording Musicians Association Los Angeles President Steve Dress. (Photo by Linda A. Rapka/AFM Local 47)

The 5th annual Made In Hollywood Honors for Television event, held Sept. 12 at 1600 VINE, celebrated Emmy-nominated TV shows filmed in Los Angeles and throughout California. Continue reading →

Instrumental Casting Pledges to Not Violate Federal Labor Laws

Company owned by Jennifer Walton required to comply with National Labor Relations Board settlement agreement

In May of 2017, AFM Local 47 filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge against Instrumental Casting, LLC, owned by Jennifer Walton, for violations for federal labor laws. In its charge, Local 47 said that she forced musicians to disclose their union membership status and categorically denied employment to musicians who were members of the Union.

Faced with Local 47’s charge and an NLRB investigation, Instrumental Casting signed a settlement agreement with the NLRB that requires Instrumental Casting to post an official NLRB Notice on its website and at its office stating that musicians are free to advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions, and to join or form unions, and that Instrumental Casting will refrain from restricting those rights or discriminating against musicians that exercise them. Walton must also email this Notice to musicians to whom she sent casting calls. Continue reading →