If you’ve spent any time on the “gig circuit” the endless rotation of clubs, weddings, corporate events, and session work you know the reality. We piece together a living from dozens of different sources, often juggling more hats than a stagehand on opening night. It’s a hustle that defines the Los Angeles music scene. But while the hustle is real, the benefits shouldn’t be a pipe dream.
One of our primary mandates at Local 47 is straightforward: organize more live work, and in doing so, secure healthcare for more musicians. The two are inextricably linked. When work happens outside of a union contract, we’re leaving significant value…. specifically employer-paid benefits on the table.
Consider the baseline: Local 47’s Health & Welfare Plan is arguably one of the most attainable in the country. With employer contributions, a musician can become eligible for comprehensive coverage with roughly $700 in contributions. For a freelancer who is teaching, gigging, or tracking sessions, that’s not just a perk; it’s a career-sustaining lifeline. Yet, across the broader American Federation of Musicians, thousands of professional players remain without affordable coverage. The fragmentation of our healthcare arrangements across different Locals is an inefficiency we can no longer afford. We should be advocating for a national health plan that allows a musician’s contributions to follow them from a gig in LA to a tour in New York or Las Vegas.1
But we don’t have to wait for the future to start building power. Right now, we are staring down the barrel of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games…. a massive, $18 billion economic engine for our region. The LA28 Games are projected to generate over 11,000 hours of content produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services, and with a staggering $7.26 billion total Games budget, the scope of entertainment is unprecedented. This is not just a two-week event; it is a multi-year organizing campaign. We are looking at opportunities in ceremonies, fan celebrations, sponsor activations, and promotional content. If we organize this work properly, we aren’t just securing paychecks; we are securing the employer contributions that drive our health and pension funds.
Our current membership stands at approximately 5,155, and while we’ve weathered fluctuations in film and TV revenue, our resolve is stronger than ever. We know that when we fight to put a contract on a job, we’re doing more than setting a wage scale; we’re legitimizing the career of every working musician. Every nonunion gig we turn into a union gig is a step toward building a sustainable professional life. We need to treat the lead-up to 2028 as our runway. Our strategy is simple: establish labor relationships early, demand that local talent is utilized, and ensure that the music defining these Games is produced under AFM agreements. More organized gigs. More contributions. More musicians with healthcare. It’s a goal that turns the “gigging grind” into a professional career. Let’s make it happen.