Part 3 of an informational series about financial core

You’ve been hearing some chatter about fi-core. Maybe you’ve felt pressure from a colleague — or perhaps even an employer — to quit your Union and go fi-core. While it is your right to take financial-core status, it is also your right to know the truth and the long-term consequences of this decision.

The Fi-core Coercer says it’s “the Union” that’s preventing you from working as much as you could. They say it’s your right to stand up to the “tyranny” of “the Union,” which doesn’t really care about you anyway.

It’s easy to point the finger and turn “the Union” into the bad guy. It’s the oldest union-busting tactic in the book — to third-party our collective bargaining power, to morph it into an alien entity, separate from you and me.

The reason our union exists is because we musicians decide to band together and make sure we are treated fairly in the workplace, and don’t get screwed over by those who’d happily see us work for less than our worth. We decided standing together, in unity, is the best way to make this happen. We decided the most effective way to change contracts and policies is to share in a democratic process, have a voice, and be active participants in crafting and maintaining the terms of our employment.

By going fi-core, you drop all our collaborative work by the wayside. You choose to silence your voice, eliminate your ability to create change, and give up your chance to improve things for the better for us all. In the short run, going fi-core allows you to overcome the obstacle of having to turn down that non-union job today while maintaining the ability to take that union job tomorrow. But if more and more of us choose fi-core, how long do you think it will take before those AFM jobs of tomorrow disappear?

Ask an employer their idea of a utopia, and they can’t ask for a better scenario than having workers quit their own union. In the long run, the only way to overcome our biggest obstacle – union-busting forces pitting workers against each other so they can undercut and underpay us all – is to take a stand and prove you believe our work is worth the fight. It’s not enough to be a passive observer. No war is won on the sidelines. We must take unified action and compel others to join our actions. Our Union is only as strong as our unity. When we get involved and take action, we win.

REPORT DARK DATES
Please report the date, time and location of non-union recording sessions to the Local 47 EMD Department. If you know the contractor’s name, include it as well. All reports are, of course, strictly anonymous.

Phone: (323) 993-3130
Anonymous online form: bit.ly/darkdate

It’s your livelihood. Help protect it.

Part 2 of an informational series about financial core

You’ve been hearing some chatter about fi-core. Maybe you’ve felt pressure from a colleague — or perhaps even an employer — to quit your Union and go fi-core. While it is your right to take financial-core status, it is also your right to know the truth and the long-term consequences of this decision.

The Fi-core Coercer says it’s perfectly within your legal right to go fi-core, so what’s the harm?

Financial-core status is indeed perfectly within a worker’s legal rights, but it’s important to remember its roots stem from a lawsuit that was designed to break a union. Communications Workers vs. Harry Beck, an AT&T worker, didn’t end up breaking that union, but it did weaken all unions by allowing members to disavow their allegiance while still reaping the benefits of the wages and working conditions their union and members historically had fought for, and won, on their behalf. It’s now perfectly legal for employers to break up union members among themselves, and break up their unions, without breaking the law. Fi-core is your legal right, but is it right?

REPORT DARK DATES
Please report the date, time and location of non-union recording sessions to the Local 47 EMD Department. If you know the contractor’s name, include it as well. All reports are, of course, strictly anonymous.

Phone: (323) 993-3130
Anonymous online form: bit.ly/darkdate

It’s your livelihood. Help protect it.

Part 1 of an informational series about financial core

You’ve been hearing some chatter about fi-core. Maybe you’ve felt pressure from a colleague — or perhaps even an employer — to quit your Union and go fi-core. While it is your right to take financial-core status, it is also your right to know the truth and the long-term consequences of this decision.

The Fi-core Coercer says, You want to work as m­uch as possible, don’t you? By going fi-core, you’ll be able to freely accept both union and non-union work — why not enjoy the best of both worlds?

This really depends what you consider “best” to mean, and for how long you expect this scenario to last. It’s no secret that workers and employers sit on opposite sides of the fence. While it’s entirely possible for the two sides to be cordial, even friendly, at the end of the day it comes down to a basic truth: Workers want to earn as much as possible; employers want to pay as little as possible.

Business exists for the sole purpose of making money and increasing shareholder value. Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with that; who doesn’t enjoy a nice return on their mutual funds? But paying the worker as little as possible has always been a goal of business, and there is something wrong with that. By accepting non-union work, you are helping the employer achieve that goal.

By caving in to the economic pressure of an anti-union effort, rather than fighting for fairness in wages and working conditions and working toward organizing and increasing AFM work opportunities, you are giving aid and comfort to those who would bring down your Union. Ultimately, accepting non-union work ends up costing a very high price. Is this really the best thing for you?

REPORT DARK DATES
Please report the date, time and location of non-union recording sessions to the Local 47 EMD Department. If you know the contractor’s name, include it as well. All reports are, of course, strictly anonymous.

Phone: (323) 993-3130
Anonymous online form: bit.ly/darkdate

It’s your livelihood. Help protect it.