While we have been working hard to ensure musicians get back to work while protecting everyone’s health and safety, we understand that the vast majority of our members remain unemployed due to the global pandemic.
Today the Local 47 Executive Board voted to extend the moratorium on suspensions and expulsions for delinquent membership dues for an additional 60 days. Your Membership Dues for 2020 are now due by July 31. Continue reading
Former Life Member. Percussion
10/1/1948 – 6/7/2020
David Johnson, award-winning musician, 71, died of natural causes on June 7, 2020, two years after retiring to his childhood home in Port Angeles, Washington, to enjoy the beauty and peace of the Pacific Northwest. David enjoyed an accomplished musical career, including winning a Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium in 2015 as a member of the PARTCH Ensemble. He also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, toured with the late pianist Roger Williams, and taught at the California Institute of the Arts for 26 years. His music both brought great joy both to David and to his audiences, and he inspired generations of young musicians as a beloved and respected professor of percussive arts. Continue reading
In consideration of the governmental orders permitting the resumption of in-person recordings, the American Federation of Musicians announced that effective June 22, 2020, its temporary waiving of leader scale for remote recording under the Sound Recording Labor Agreement, the Basic Theatrical Motion Picture Agreement and Basic Television Motion Picture Agreement is hereby lifted and all contract terms shall resume as usual.
If you are called for a remote recording session, you should expect to be paid leader pay, which means that you will be paid double scale for your work. Continue reading
AFM members are advised that “Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Celebration for the Film and TV Music Community” to be presented by MusiCares on Thursday, June 25, 2020 is a non-union engagement, with no protections for fair wages, health & welfare, pension, or other benefits that come with union contracts.
The AFM has been in discussions with management to try and secure an appropriate agreement. Unfortunately they have not agreed to sign a union contract. We recommend that AFM members not participate until such a contract is in place.
If you are contacted to participate in this concert, please alert the President’s Office at 323.993.3181 or email pres_sec@afm47.org. We want to make sure you are paid correctly and receive the proper benefits. Musicians standing together have the power.
The County of Los Angeles is offering free COVID-19 testing. For more information and to schedule a test please visit: lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs
Additionally, our friends at the LA Fed are also offering free testing at their headquarters near the Westlake District of Los Angeles. St. John’s Well Child & Family Center will be doing testing by appointment only at the LA Fed office.
When: Every other Thursday starting June 11, from 8:30 am to 2 pm
Where: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (2130 James M Wood Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90006)
Appointments in English: Alicia Vargas (213-400-0552)
Appointments in Spanish: Antonia Esparza (213-706-1740)
American Federation of Musicians Local 47 President John Acosta today released the following statement on the murder of George Floyd:
“We stand with the people in our nation and around the world in condemnation of the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, and too many others who have fallen victim to police violence. It is not enough to speak out over the racial inequality in our nation; we need to fight back against the attitudes and actions that have become so pervasive in our society.
“Now more than ever each and every one of us must do more, say more, and be more. We must be better than who we are if we are to make the lasting change our country needs so desperately.
“AFM Local 47 condemns racism of any kind and strengthens our resolve to work toward achieving meaningful, lasting change that brings equality and justice to everyone in our society.”
What we’re doing to ensure musicians return to work safely and soon
Friday, June 5th – Open to all Local 47 members
Jay Cohen first Local 47 live performer to return to work
and more!
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Overture Online is optimized for reading via smartphone or tablet. For those without access to a smart device, issues may be viewed on a web browser here. Local 47 members may download archived pdf versions from the members section at afm47.org. Continue reading
Sound clips below. To hear the full playlist, click here to listen on Spotify.
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our musical community. We have lost friends and colleagues, and almost all of us have lost our work. Yet our future will arrive, and we need to do everything we can to ensure our health and safety when the opportunity to return to work together arrives.
Please join our distinguished panel on Friday, June 5, at 7 p.m. featuring guest speakers. We will cover a variety of topics including:
Prepare your questions; we will be dedicating a substantial portion of the Town Hall to Q&A.
This Town Hall is open to all AFM Local 47 members. Registration is required. Link and password will be emailed upon membership verification.
Helping all of our musicians get back to work while protecting your health and safety continues to be our number one priority. AFM Local 47 has been working with adjacent unions, management, both the City and County of Los Angeles, infectious disease specialists, rank-and-file musicians and scoring stage crew, as well as gathering the growing body of scientific studies of safety for orchestral musicians being gathered both here and in Germany and Austria.
The Local 47 Executive Board has adopted a series of recommendations created by the Post Covid-19 Work Rules Working Group to ensure safe work environments for post-production music that can allow millions of dollars of wages to return to the thousands of musicians who provide the world-class scores for the projects that California and Hollywood depend upon. Continue reading
