Amy Brenneman and Esai Morales are among 47 popular performing artists speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act in a dynamic new video. Please take a moment to state your support on behalf of your business, band or ensemble by filling out a declaration form and returning a copy to the Denver Musicians Association.
I strongly encourage you to immediately endorse the Employee Free Choice Act. I fail to understand why you are not taking a firm public stand on the EFCA when you previously have co-sponsored the bill.
I strongly encourage you to immediately endorse the Employee Free Choice Act. Two weeks ago I attended the town hall meeting held at the IBEW Local 68 offices.
Hundreds of musicians and their union brothers and sisters formed picket lines and distributed leaflets in front of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, in protest of Texas Ballet Theater’s canned music policy. Demonstrators inflated a giant rat balloon to draw attention to musicians’ concerns. Demonstrations were held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 27, 28 and 29, 2009 prior to the start of the company’s Cleopatra performances.
The ballet company outsourced its orchestra pit during last weekend’s performances of “Canned Cleopatra,” replacing musicians with a recording it made in China.
Click on subject title to read on:
Electronic Media, Labor, Legislative, Local Discussion, National Discussion, Symphonic/Classical
Ballet Company Replacing Musicians with Recordings it Made in China
Company outsourced culture, is an artistic fraud and consumer rip-off, Musicians say
In June, 2008, the artistic staff of a Fort Worth ballet company traveled to Shanghai, paid $30,000.00 to the government of China and killed the jobs of our members. Join with us March 27, 28 and 29 as we converge on Bass Hall in Downtown Fort Worth to protest one of the most deplorable acts ever staged in the history of classical ballet theater.
Labor, Legislative, National Discussion, Symphonic/Classical
Responding to daily revelations of corruption and scandal with the AIG bailout, an estimated 10,000 Americans are hitting the streets tomorrow, March 19, in more than 100 public demonstrations across the country. These public displays of mass outrage will surely force accountability and oversight that decades of litigation and lawsuits could never produce.
This mornings email blast from the Colorado Council on the Arts (CCA) contained disturbing news about anticipated stimulus grants. We should be very concerned that 1) only a handful of employers are even eligible to apply for these funds, and 2) if utilized, may only enhance a travel getaway for musicians who summer in Colorado.
Legislative, Local Discussion, National Discussion, Pete Vriesenga, Symphonic/Classical
On this day (March 3, 2009) representative AFM members from across the U.S. are meeting with members of the House and Senate to lobby in support of the Performance Rights Act, H.R. 848 and S.379. Denver Local 20-623 members’ Bob Montgomery and Tom LeRoux are among the AFM contingent. This effort is made possible through contributions to the AFM’s Legislative Action Fund (formerly TEMPO).
Electronic Media, Legislative, National Discussion, Pete Vriesenga
It wasn’t until 1938 that the 40-hr. work week, along with minimum wage guarantees, child labor protections and more, were signed into law with the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Credit for this historic effort goes first and foremost to generations of workers who held out principle before their personal livelihood.
Labor, Legislative, National Discussion, Pete Vriesenga, The Denver Musician
“Right-to-Work” for less is slated for the November Ballot. It is as deceptive in name as its proponents: “A Better Colorado.” They claim that “Amendment 47 will strengthen Colorado’s economy, create jobs and make our State more competitive,” but nothing could be further from the truth.
Labor, Legislative, Local Discussion, Pete Vriesenga, The Denver Musician
Recent Comments