[Dixielandjazz] AFof M trying to recruit new members worldwide?????

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

Folks:  this email sent to a musician in New Zealand pretty much sums up the 
ridiculousness that the AFof M HAS EVOLVED INTO.  Long but well worth the read 
to see just how far out of touch they are with the real working musicians 
world of today.

Try explaining this to the manager of the Pizza Parlor that wants to hire you 
for a Monday Night gig.  I see they are still smoking some of that GOOD Stuff 
in New York, which is also why I get so many calls from Heavy New York Jazz 
Cats looking for work.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins


Don't know how I come to be on their mailing list. They might  be kind 
and let me get into the States on a special working/educational agreement.
Would others on  the list get this newsletter.

Colin ' not a member of the NZ Union' being an out of their area 
control. Even musicians in Auckland, NZ, don't belong or use the Union 
for their normal details, unless it is a contracted overseas tour shows.
.

Jazz E-Newsletter wrote:

> If you have any problems viewing this newsletter or its contents, 
> please click on this link or paste it into your browser's address bar 
> to see the online version:
> www.local802afm.org/frames/fs_article.cfm?xEntry=31572160 
> <http://www.local802afm.org/frames/fs_article.cfm?xEntry=31572160>
>  
> JAZZ e-newsletter from the
>
> Jazz Advisory Committee of LOCAL 802, AFM
>
> IN THIS ISSUE
>
>     1) Introducing the JAZZ e-newsletter
>
>     2) AFM Pension Fund - How good is it?
>
>     3) New Contract form allows easy access to Pension Fund.
>
> Introducing the JAZZ e-newsletter
>> *>
> The Jazz e-newsletter is distributed regularly by the Jazz advisory 
> Committee of Local 802, AFM. Among our goals is to insure that Jazz 
> Artists have access to important union benefits and protections. We 
> welcome your feedback as well as articles and news tips for inclusion 
> in future e-newsletters. Our email address is 
> jazzenewsletter at local802afm.org <mailto:jazzenewsletter at local802afm.org>.
>
> The American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund - How 
> Good Is It?
>
> What is it?
>
> The American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund 
> (*AFM-EPF*) was created in 1959 to ensure that musicians would have 
> access to a defined benefit pension plan upon their retirement. It is 
> administered by a Board of Trustees made up of both union officers and 
> employer representatives. The AFM-EPF is protected under the Employee 
> Retirement Income Security Act.
>
> Who is eligible?
>
> Any musician who is employed under a union contract, for whom jobs are 
> reported and filed, and on whose behalf contributions are made to the 
> Fund, participates in the AFM-EPF. Your monthly pension is determined 
> by the contributions made by employers during your career and by your 
> age at retirement.
>
> What are the benefits?
>
> The AFM-EPF is a defined benefit pension plan, in which you can become 
> vested after five years of certain minimum contributions. As a vested 
> member of the AFM-EPF, you cannot lose any of the pension credits you 
> have accumulated.
>
> *How does the AFM & EPF compare to a typical savings plan?*
>
> *Example: *Suppose you take a gig that pays $1,000 and you wish to put 
> some of it away for retirement. Here are two options to consider.
>
>     A) Take the full $1000 payment and invest $100 of it yourself.
>
>     B) Take a wage of $900, and have your employer contribute $100 to
>     the AFM-EPF. (The LS-1 Contract form allows your employer to
>     easily do this by designating you as the contributor to the
>     Pension Fund in their behalf.)
>
> Here are the conditions of each:
>
> *(A) Individual Investment*
>>
> *(B) AFM-EPF*
>
> Normally subject to income taxes
>
> Not taxed
>
> Payout depends on how many years the money is invested and market 
> conditions at the time you retire.
>>
> Defined payout regardless of how many years before retirement and 
> regardless of market conditions at the time of retirement.
>
> Using the example gig above, suppose you wish to retire at age 65, and 
> assuming you live until age 80, how will the $100 pay off in each 
> case? Let's look at the calculations:
>
>     /A) Individual investment/: You take the $100 and:
>
>         1) Subtract taxes, assumed to be 25%, or $25
>
>         2) Invest the remainder at a 5% yearly rate of return.
>
>     The net value at the end of 15 years is $221.41.
>>
>     /B) AFM-EPF/: 1) Subtract work dues of 3.5 % and using the current
>     AFM & Employers Pension Fund monthly payout rate of $3.50 per $100
>     contributed, the value of your pension benefits over your
>     retirement years would be $608.95.
>
>     *Examining the Value of the AFM & Employers Pension Fund
>     How far can $100 go?*
>
> As you can see, the benefits of participating in the AFM & EPF are 
> significant, no matter how far in advance you begin planning your 
> retirement. What's more, an AFM & EPF pension has two ways of 
> increasing. Not only can the payment figure (the "multiplier," 
> currently $3.50 per $100 for retirement at age 65) increase 
> periodically, but you can also benefit from the power of collective 
> bargaining as we negotiate with employers for contracts that offer 
> wage and pension contribution increases.
>
> For more information on how you can plug into the AFM & EPF, contact 
> Local 802's Jazz Department:
>
> Bill Dennison at 212 245-4801 ext. 110, or
> Bob Cranshaw at 212 245-4802 ext. 157
>
> *Good News for Jazz and Club Date Players!*
> */New Contract Allows Pension Flexibility/*
>
> Reprinted from*/ Allegro/ November, 2004 (Publication of Local 802, AFM)*
>
> by Sue Terry
>
> Have you ever filed a union contract on a job you booked yourself?
>
> If not, you missed out on getting pension and health contributions for 
> yourself and your band members.
>
> But there's no time like right now to learn how to file a contract so 
> you can receive benefits on future jobs that you book. These jobs can 
> be recitals, concerts, club dates, weddings, parties and even 
> funerals. Almost any live music job can be filed -- so you and your 
> band can get those increasingly important pension and health 
> contributions.
>
> The new LS-1 contract, issued last year by the AFM, allows members who 
> are unincorporated to have benefit contributions paid on their behalf. 
> The form is a simple double-sided sheet.
>
> There are two basic scenarios when you file a job using the new LS-1 
> contract.
>
> If you are incorporated, put your corporation name in the space for 
> "employer." If you are not incorporated, you need to have your 
> employer sign the agreement. This designates you, the bandleader, to 
> make pension and health contributions for yourself and your side 
> musicians on the employer's behalf.
>
> So, in other words, when you use an LS-1 contract, your client only 
> has to give you one check for the gig -- instead of the usual three! 
> The check is for you to pay yourself, your side musicians, and pay for 
> all benefits -- including pension -- for yourself and your side musicians.
>
> It's a good idea to make your client aware of the procedure in 
> advance. I usually say something like, "The musicians I use are the 
> best in the business, and we belong to the American Federation of 
> Musicians. Please sign the contract so we can receive benefits through 
> our union."
>
> Every client I have worked with so far has been more than willing to sign.
>
> After your client has agreed to your price and payment arrangements, 
> you can send her or him the LS-1 contract to sign, along with a SASE 
> for the client to mail it back to you. (This process can also be done 
> by fax.) Don't fill in the names and payments to the musicians yet -- 
> just indicate with an "X" or an arrow where the client should fill in 
> information and sign.
>
> Along with the contract, I send two copies of my own personal 
> contract, which I've written myself. Sign both yourself, and have the 
> client sign and send one copy back to you along with the LS-1.
>
> In order to determine the price you will charge for a job, you need to 
> sit down with the current scale sheet (802 will be happy to mail or 
> fax it to you) and determine what the health, pension, cartage, 
> doubling, pre-heat, parking and rehearsal charges will be. (Some of 
> these may not be applicable.)
>
> These charges are either set amounts (cartage, health) or they are 
> percentages of scale. This last point requires some explanation. Even 
> though you may be paying your band over scale, you only need to pay 
> pension and doubling as percentages of scale, not on what you're 
> actually paying. (Of course, you may pay pension and doubling on the 
> entire amount if you wish.)
>
> Don't give your client a price until you've figured out what your 
> expenses are going to be, plus what you want to make yourself!
>
> Your expenses include: wages (what the band members will actually put 
> in their pockets); your fee; pension/health benefits; sound system, 
> equipment or rehearsal studio rental; mileage or travel allowance if 
> job is far; work dues; and miscellaneous expenses (parking, rehearsal, 
> etc.)
>
> A good way to be prepared when a potential client calls is to draw up 
> a couple of sample jobs, for your own reference. If you know you have 
> to pay out X dollars for each musician (wage, benefits, doubling, 
> cartage,) then it's easy to add a figure when the client wants to have 
> more or fewer pieces than originally discussed. It's also nice to give 
> them options when you're negotiating. "You could have a five piece 
> band for X dollars, or a six piece band for Z dollars. If you want to 
> have two pieces for a cocktail hour, it will be Y dollars extra."
>
> I'd like to thank Kimeo Lee and Jim Hannen in the Local 802 Contract 
> Administration Department for all the help they've given me in 
> figuring out everything I've just written. They helped me, and they'll 
> help you too -- just give a call if you get stuck. I hope this 
> information will help you take advantage of the health plan and the 
> pension plan -- one of the most secure pension funds in the country, 
> worth more than $1.4 billion. Be a part of it by starting now!
>
> //
>
> /Sue Terry is a saxophonist and composer active in the jazz and 
> recording fields. She's the author of four books published by Music 
> Sales Corporation, and numerous articles and interviews. Her Web site 
> is www.SueTerry.net <http://www.sueterry.net/>./
>
> *If at any time you wish to be removed from the Local 802 Jazz 
> Advisory Committee e-mail distribution list, please contact us at 212 
> 245-4802 or reply via e-mail to jazzenewsletter at local802afm.org 
> <mailto:jazzenewsletter at local802afm.org>.*
>