[Dixielandjazz] Musicians As Private Contractors

[Dixiejazzdata]

 Ginny they are absolutely correct:   what will they get?

New expenditures for UNION Dues   which apparently they do not need to be bothered with at the present to perform with the Symphony.

They will lose their independent contractor's status and then have to have payroll taxes taken out of their checks which is why the Government and the IRS want to see this happen.    If it does happen and they can spread it to all working musicians it will kill off even more bands, and live music venues because of the unnecessary obligations mandated to withhold taxes from the pittance wages of musicians who mostly do not make enough money annually to owe any taxes anyway.  It will serve no purpose than to try and make more independent band leaders collection agents for the IRS who will then have to refund all the money anyway, and it will effectively once again cost more money to collect it and track it than they will collect.

The Musicians Unions "AFof M" has always been about the Symphonies and the Broadway Shows musicians and nobody else scuffling for a living at the street level  have ever been really cared about by the Union for anything other than cash flow into the coffers of the Union.   Most Locals are nothing more than a good ole boy network trying to control the music gigs in their area and get paid to do it and get first crack at any live music gig.   It is their dream that everyone wanting to hire live music would call the UNION to do so.     The Musician union has always been a GUILD  rather than a Real Union with any Balls or desires to fight for the rights of all musicians.     They may have been useful in the 1930's 40's  but they have been pretty much useless since the fifties as more and more players walked away from them and their attitudes.   In my opinion they have done more to destroy Live music than anything else by not standing up to ASCAP and BMI  and allowing them to continue to bully and threaten and fine venue operators with nothing more than Extortion tactics.

They in recent years showed their balls were deflated when they started allowing pre-recorded tracks of music scores for Broadway shows created via computer to save the Show producers money, they did not lower the admission prices to the shows did they ?   

I particularly like the way they cleverly worded this:  ALLOW independent musicians to JOIN the Union  I am sure they could have joined long ago if they wanted to pay dues, but the symphony administration more than likely advised them against it to save money on benefits that they probably do not have now or feel they actually need or want.

It is nothing but another NUMBERS GAME  and we should remember the folks who invented and controlled and still control the Numbers Game, they just moved it off the punch cards and over into their new industries like Unions, Insurance Companies, Retirement funds,   Cash Flow for THEM always paid for by the poor trying to work little guys.

Happy New Year and resist authority especially when it pertains to YOUR money.


Bart:

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Gluetje1 <Gluetje1 at aol.com>
To: B.B. Buffington <dixiejazzdata at aol.com>
Cc: dixielandjazz <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sun, Jan 1, 2012 8:25 am
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Musicians As Private Contractors


Interesting.  I have no direct experience, but have long  been  told that 
in St. Louis the local musicians union primarily serves members or  adjunct 
members of the St. Louis Symphony.  I do know (if I can trust local  news at 
all) that the only musician and union items that make the news are  always 
in regard to the symphony.  Many other area professional musicians  have said 
to me that the perceive little to no benefit will come to them from  
membership.
 
Ginny
 
 
In a message dated 12/31/2011 10:52:07 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
rsr at ringwald.com writes:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/30/labor-board-rules-local-symphony-
musicians-can-join-union/?test=latestnews#section-content

--Bob  Ringwald

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