[Dixielandjazz] Pay Scales

[Mike]

Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis wrote:
> I am still a union member but you need to think about it.  Most of the 
> people I work with have been union members at one time or another and 
> are pretty disillusioned with it.

I know a lot of musicians in my area are not Union and many 
became that way because they really didn't see the Union working 
for them.
> If I had to depend on the Union I would be out of business but it's 
> really not fair to put that all on them.  Unions have been in the 
> decline for a lot of years.  It is a good place to network with other 
> musicians and may be worth the dues just for that.
> Larry

We've all seen what the digital age has done with the music 
industry. It remains to be seen if Union can actually keep up 
and remain a force to be reckoned with. I'd like to see Unions 
last but as you've said Unions have been in a slow decline for 
many years and they are nearly nonexistant in some cities. Where 
I live, there are very few Union gigs;mostly symphony work and 
theatre productions.