Stewart Williams

Negotiating in the Midst of a Worldwide Pandemic

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 Stewart Williams 0 Views

As spring 2020 approached, Local 72-147 was preparing for one of the busiest negotiating seasons in many years, with the musicians of the Dallas and Fort Worth Symphonies, the Dallas Opera Orchestra, East Texas Symphony and Dallas Summer Musicals all preparing to negotiate successor agreements with their managements. With the outbreak of COVID-19 creating a shutdown of public gatherings and stay-at-home orders for individuals across DFW, these musicians found themselves with current performance seasons shuttered. Previously unimaginable, force majeure provisions were invoked by some employers, and others through application for SBA PPP loans made available through the CARES Act, passed on March

President's Message

Participation in Committees, Membership Meetings & Events

December 3, 2019December 5, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, and wish you all the best as we gear up for another great holiday season this December.

This time of year we always look back on the year, its ups and downs, and plan forward for the next year. At our last Membership meeting on November 11, we had a discussion about making more of these meetings, increasing attendance, and our sense of community in our local. After a discussion of how member participation is how we really make our union stronger, one member who had just joined this year commented: “Ask not what your union can do for you, but what you can do for your union…”

We carried this discussion on to our next Executive Board meeting, and from this arose plans to build new standing committees with the purpose of bringing our union more together and getting more done. We are beginning with a Member Engagement Committee to help schedule and plan our Membership Meetings and Orientations, and develop them into really special events. Our first of these is scheduled for the morning of February 22. We are looking for folks to help come up with ways to program the events so they bring special opportunities to our members, along with access to union business, discussion and fellowship. Please contact me or Frederick Nichelson, who has volunteered to chair this committee as we get it going. Let us know soon, as February 22 will be here sooner than we all think!

Featured

New Agreement for Wichita Falls Symphony

October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

Musicians of the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra have ratified a two year successor agreement with the WFSO. After years of depending on single engagement contracts to engage Local 72-147 members to perform with the WFSO, the Union entered into a full one-year collective bargaining agreement representing all orchestra member

Featured

New Agreement for East Texas Symphony

October 13, 2019October 31, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

The Musicians of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra ratified a successor agreement with ETSO Management for a one year extension to the Master agreement which expired last May, including a wage increase and a few modifications.

Featured

New Agreement for Casa Manana

October 13, 2019October 31, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

This summer the Musicians of Casa Manana ratified a three year successor collective bargaining agreement with Local 72-147 with improved wages and conditions pertaining to hiring. A fundamental element of this agreement is an updated hiring list. In negotiating this new list, attention was made to hiring history and seniority so to

Pension News

Retiree Representative/Equitable Factors Panel Appointed

October 13, 2019December 9, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

The Fund’s board of trustees recently appointed Brad C. Eggen, president of Local 30-73 (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN) to act as the Retiree Representative, a position created by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA). His role is to apply the statutory list of equitable factors in the best interests of the retirees and present his viewpoint to the Fund trustees and the US Department of the Treasury. He will provide an independent

Pension News

Resolution No. 8 at the Convention Report by Stewart Williams

October 13, 2019December 9, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

As one of the delegates at the AFM Convention this year, I was appointed to serve on the Finance Committee. In this role I participated in the process by which the various recommendations and resolutions are introduced to the floor of the convention. At the committee level, we hear testimony from proponents and opponents, if they choose to be heard. We discuss and prepare a recommendation on the proposed legislation for the moment when it is brought to the floor.

Pension News

Seeking Solutions: More Revenue for the Fund aka STREAMING

October 13, 2019December 9, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

The theme of the Convention was “Together We Can” and presentation after presentation brought focus to the larger effort necessary to address solutions for today’s difficulties. From facing the challenges of maintaining a balanced budget for the federation, to keeping pace with changing technologies shaping the livelihoods of musicians, and (of course) to putting our Pension Fund back on course to solvency.

Pension News

The Fund Enters Critical & Declining Status

October 13, 2019December 9, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

In late May, the actuaries of the AFM-EPF advised that the Fund is entering “critical and declining” status, which means the Fund is projected to run out of money to pay benefits within 20 years. This has occurred because of the combination of investment losses during the Great Recession and rising benefit payments that increasingly exceed contributions.

Columns President's Message

The Convention, New Initiatives, Pension Struggle, Negotiations and Fighting the Union Busters

October 13, 2019October 28, 2019 Stewart Williams 0 Views

It has been quite a year so far for us here in Local 72-147. We have begun new initiatives, made new friends, taken on new challenges, and continue to stand up to enforce our agreements. One of our priorities this year has been to develop new relationships and improve the communication and effectiveness of those we already have. We do this to strengthen our position as we move into a new season of music making where we will be renegotiating many new agreements and reaching out to the community.

In terms of reaching out we have a new series that is a result of our relationship with Klyde Warren Park in dowtown Dallas and the efforts of our members working together to broaden our footprint in the community. This “Musicians in the Park” series debuted last April. An adaptation of the Meet and Greet & Jam Sessions that we began doing throughout the community last year, we put together a concert featuring a house band jamming with featured members and reaching out to non members as well. This concert was more than a recruitment event though. It was an opportunity to speak directly to the city about our mission of being there for musicians, and not just any musicians, but OUR musicians. The musicians who are the musical voices of our home and city. Artistically the concert was an amazing success, gave us a moment to celebrate who we are and what we do, have some fellowship, and show the community how important we are to its cultural life. We are making plans for a follow up to this event, and are working to put together another diverse and quality program that people will come to see as a destination event.

We also, through MPTF funding, collaborated with Klyde Warren Park to bring music to the first ever Memorial Day Music Fest at the park. Sponsoring the East Stage during this one day festival, an estimated forty thousand people came to enjoy. Plans for this festival next year have already begun with the intention of improving on this already great success. We are so pleased to enhance the festival seas