The AFM Observer

Ray's first moves

I'm told that newly-installed AFM President Ray Hair made some personnel announcements at the ROPA Conference a few days ago.

Most interesting to me was the appointment of Ken Shirk as what is described in the Bylaws as the "assistant to the President assigned to service Locals and members located in the western part of the United States." I would guess that means that Ken would be responsible for the West Coast office, which of course handles the bulk of the electronic media contract administration and has been of great concern to the RMA. In addition, Savina Ciaramella, who was in charge of videogames in the West Coast office, has left (I am told by mutual agreement with the incoming administration).

Ken is one of the brightest and most experienced administrators in the AFM, and given the formidable intellectual horsepower possessed by the leadership of the RMA, seems a good fit for that position just on that basis. But Ken is also an interesting and unusual combination of being both very principled and non-ideological.

I'm assuming that this appointment was made with the concurrence of the EMSD Steering Committee, as indeed is required by the IEB handbook and the Roehl report. Given the peculiarly difficult nature of the issues that the AFM faces in the electronic media field, this seems like a truly brilliant move on Ray's part.

The other announcement Ray made at ROPA concerned the AFM-EP Fund. Ray has apparently made a near-wholesale replacement of the union-side trustees; only Phil Yao will remain from the old board. The new union-side slate will be Vince Trombetta (47), Tino Gagliardi (802), Gary Matts (10-208), Brian Rood (ICSOM), Laura Ross (ICSOM and Nashville), Phil Yao (RMA), Bill Moriarity, and Ray.

I think it's particularly good news that Ray has brought Bill Moriarity back to the Pension Fund board. Bill has great credibility with the other side and years of experience in dealing with Pension Fund issues - a field in which years of experience really are required in order to be effective. But the new trustees are all very able people as well, as well as being elected for other positions by musicians who do the majority of Pension Fund work. Given that there are only 8 slots on the union side, this is as good a selection as could be made.

The only real surprise to me in all this was the departure of Bill Foster from the Pension Fund board. Bill, of course, was a rank-and-file appointee of Tom's, which I'm sure didn't help him in terms of the new administration. But he is also a highly regarded elder statesman within ICSOM. Perhaps there's a back story to this that I haven't heard yet.

All in all, though, a wonderful set of opening moves by Ray.

(correction: Gary Matts is a returning Trustee, having served on the Board for several years already.)

(correction: the circumstances of Savina Ciaramella's departure have been clarified.)

Like a lead balloon

Tom's recent video promos on the AFM website have attracted some highly critical reaction from outside the AFM. Ray Ricker, who is an AFM member but is also on the faculty of the Eastman School (and head of Eastman's Institute for Music Leadership) wrote:

So I clicked there and checked out the video.  I hate to be critical, but if part of the purpose of doing something like this is to create interest in joining the union, they are missing the mark.  What demographic has the greatest number of potential new union members? It's young people, but they will not give this a second look, or worse, they will probably click out of it after a few seconds.

I applaud the union for being pro-active to get their message out, but the image that comes across is old, dated and homemade.  In my mind it has more negatives than positives.  Mr. Lee says that there will be more installments.  If some future videos are still in production, I would suggest, for starters, that they include music.  I'd also suggest that they talk to a few young people on how to reach that segment of the musical population.  They ain't gonna do it this way.

Drew McManus, a Chicago-based arts consultant who has presented at ICSOM and worked with a number of orchestras and whose Adaptistration blog follows our field closely, was harsher:

If you're looking for a good example of how to use a new media platform in the worst possible way, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) International President Thomas F. Lee provides the example I've come across to date with a series of videos the AFM released on YouTube. Everything in this video from the complete absence of production qualities, patronizing tone of his voice, ill-fitting suit, and circa 1962 copy (that's only cool in Mad Men) is a gruesome train wreck of a product. But wait, there's more…

Although there's nothing wrong with reading from cue cards, they need to be at the same level as the lens. With his eye line a good foot below the camera, Lee's read is only outdone by his dead-pan facial expressions.

Normally, the video would be embedded below but this is so bad, one has to imagine the AFM won't leave this up very long and I don't want a dead video link in my blog if I can help it. Instead, I'll just post a direct link. Ultimately, Lee's videos serve as latest splash of gasoline on the growing bonfire of reasons why orchestra musicians should get the hell out of dodge and opt for a new collective representation solution (the other offerings are every bit as cringe inducing as the first, which leads me to believe the first wasn't just a shaky first attempt).

This is probably not the reaction that Tom hoped for.

I haven't watched any of the videos yet, so I can't comment on their quality. I was struck, however, by their proximity to a certain event shortly to convene in the Great American Desert that is particularly important to Tom's personal future - especially when I saw the same videos posted on Tom's campaign website. I think that gets awfully close to crossing the federal prohibition against using union funds to campaign for union office, as do one or two other things that Tom has done during this campaign.

A safe bet

The IEB has been busy over the weekend, it seems:

New York, NY – The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) has endorsed Richard Trumka for President of the AFL-CIO.  At its meeting on July 23, the AFM International Executive Board also endorsed incumbent Arlene Holt Baker for Executive Vice President and Liz Shuler for Secretary-Treasurer for the AFL-CIO election this September.  The election will be held as current President John Sweeney prepares to retire at the end of this term.

Trumka nor Holt are unopposed, while Shuler faces what appears to be only nominal opposition.

Should the IEB be spending time doing this kind of thing? Possibly; it might be worthwhile endorsing the winners, if only for future relationships with them. And it's likely that Trumka et al asked for the endorsement, which would make it worth doing. On the hand, given the level of risk involved, it's not going to be seen as being worth all that much.

I would have been far more impressed had the AFM followed the lead of most other AFL-CIO member unions (and the AFL-CIO itself) and endorsed Obama (although, to his eternal credit, Sam Folio used his column to make a personal endorsement of Obama prior to the 2008 election.)

And I still wonder about the AFM's endorsement of Michael Dorf to head the National Endowment for the Arts, especially as Dorf wasn't selected. It's good to endorse winners; not so good to have endorsed the winner's opposition. Perhaps there was a compelling reason to endorse Dorf, but I haven't heard one yet.

On the other hand, I doubt that Rocco Landesman, who was nominated by Obama to head the NEA, cares all that much what the AFM thinks about anything, including him.

New rules for the sandbox

As of noon Central Daylight Time on Tuesday, July 21, 2009, any new comments on this blog that do not have a verifiable name attached to them will be deleted. I am removing the TypePad authentication requirement, as it appears to be redundant in light of that policy. Those who have signed up for a TypePad ID are free to continue to use it, so long as they include their name in the comment or in their TypePad ID so that it is visible in their comment.

I’m not going to ask those who have been posting under their own names to verify their identities. But I reserve the right to ask for identifying information from commenters if I believe they might be posting under a false name, and to withhold their comments until I am satisfied that they are who they claim to be.

No experience necessary

An announcement from Tom Lee, just in time for the IEB meeting this week:

Dear Local Officer,

I am pleased to inform you that I have named Terri Cadiente as Director of Operations for the West Coast Office.  Terri has been an active participant in the entertainment industry for many years and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the job.

Terri has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1995 and her work has been featured in many movies and television series including Monk, Evan Almighty, Without A Trace, Wanted, “24”, Herbie Fully Loaded, Murder She Wrote, Days of Our Lives, Buffy, 7th Heaven, Baywatch, Titanic, and many more. She was a 2008 recipient of the Guild's first ever award for stuntpeople.  She is also a professional life coach and author of the book, Live Courageously: Choose to be the Real You.  And she is formerly a Factory Kawasaki Race Team Rider holding a current world record for fifteen years.

In the few months that Terri has been with the Federation, she has created new procedures that have streamlined the operations of the Electronic Media Services Department.  Her responsibility is to ensure that the office functions at full capacity and that local officers receive the necessary information so that they may assist their members in the best ways possible.

Please join in me welcoming Terri to the West Coast Office and the AFM. If you would like to contact Terri, she can be reached at (email addressed deleted) or at 213-251-4510.

Sincerely,

Thomas F. Lee
President
AFM

This is an odd appointment in many ways. First of all, I don’t believe the West Coast office has even had a “Director of Operations” before. What is the relationship of this position to the EMSD? What happens to the position of EMSD Director (currently occupied by Dick Gabriel on an acting basis)?

My guess is that Tom is effectively appointing Ms. Cadiente to the position of EMSD Director without having to do so explicitly – perhaps because, if he did so explicitly, there might be questions asked about her qualifications for the job.

Terri Cadiente has had a remarkable career in many ways, as one can tell from her website. But she appears to have logged no time either as a union officer or as a union staffer. As she'll be dealing mostly with union staffers and union officers, this would seem to be an unfortunate hole in her resume. And her experience with electronic media issues, aside from being frequently employed under another union’s agreements, seems to be nil.

And then there’s the question of the involvement of the EMSD Steering Committee in this appointment. That also appears to be nil, from what I’ve been told.

This is beyond odd; it’s unprecedented that there was no consultation with any Player Conference about the appointment of a department director. In its own way, it’s as disturbing as how Tom handled the recent appointment of a new SSD Director. In that case, the input of the SSD Steering Committee was disregarded, and the Player Conferences misled, about the appointment. In this case, the RMA was simply treated as if it didn’t exist.

So who did Tom consult? Was there a search? Was there a process at all? It’ll be interesting to see how Tom explains this appointment to the PCC/LCC meeting coming up, as well as to the player conference meetings next month - not to mention the IEB.

Sad news about a friend of musicians

This is not the kind of thing one wants to read about someone whose service to orchestra musicians spans four decades:

A longtime union lawyer was arrested and charged on Tuesday with embezzling approximately $150,000 from a union representing dancers and stage managers at American Ballet Theater, federal prosecutors said.

The lawyer, Leonard Leibowitz, 70, is accused of writing checks to himself from the checkbook of the Independent Artists of America.
…

Mr. Leibowitz was known beyond ballet circles. “Lenny was a very important player in the music industry, especially for the orchestras, who trusted him completely,” said Mark J. Weinstein, executive director of the Washington National Opera. “The players always wanted him. He’s a fun person to be around, he was experienced.”

Mr. Weinstein added that during his stint at New York City Opera from 1983 to 1996 he went through “four or five negotiations with, or rather against him.”
…

Mr. Leibowitz did not speak during his appearance in court on Tuesday. Prosecutors said he was charged with one count of embezzlement of union funds.

Afterward, Mr. Leibowitz’s lawyer, Stephen Flamhaft, said, “I think we will be able, after dialogue with the government, to resolve this.”

According to Alan Gordon, the executive director of the American Guild, his union had been seeking a rapprochement with the Ballet Theater dancers and stage managers who had broken away.

“After it became clear that Leibowitz had taken from their treasury, they asked us to represent them,” he said, adding that the guild and the Ballet Theater dancers “would like to see the Department of Justice aggressively prosecute this case.”

I’ve known Len for 20 years; ever since I started going to ICSOM conferences in the late 80s. I worked with him during my tenure as editor of Senza Sordino and ICSOM chair, and always found him full of wise counsel, as well as possessing an unparalled ability to cut to the heart of any issue. And, of course, he negotiated countless orchestra contracts over four decades, as well as serving as ICSOM counsel and counsel to SSD. This is very, very sad news.

Does the AFM need a Secretary-Treasurer?

The cases filed by AFM S/T Sam Folio against Marc Sazer and Andy Malloy end with a whimper, it seems:

To:      AFM International Executive Board
From:    Sam Folio
Date:    June 17, 2009

Gentlemen:

This will serve as formal notice that I desire to withdraw without prejudice the charges I levied against Marc Sazer, Case #11, 2007 and Andrew Mallow, Case #12, 2007.

Fraternally and sincerely,

Sam Folio
International Secretary-Treasurer
AFM

I don’t have enough information even to speculate about what's behind this. It’s been suggested to me that the rest of the IEB forced Sam to back down on these charges, which could be true. It’s also been suggested to me that the relationship between Sam and Tom has gone south, and that an electoral challenge to Sam is in the works for the 2009 Convention. Neither would surprise me.

Cohen to FMCS

This seems both good news and well-deserved:

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts: Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General, Small Business Administration and George H. Cohen, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Director.

President Obama said, "At this important time for our nation, I am grateful that these dedicated and skilled individuals have chosen to join our team and serve their country. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years."

George H. Cohen, Nominee for Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Director

George Cohen has had an extensive and distinguished career as a labor lawyer, negotiator, and mediator. During the period 1966-2005 he was a senior partner at Bredhoff & Kaiser, a Washington, D.C. law firm with a national practice, specializing in representing private and public sector labor organizations in collective bargaining involving a wide variety of industries and government entities. Prior to entering into private practice, Mr. Cohen served as an appellate court attorney with the National Labor Relations Board. He is a graduate of Cornell University and its Law School and earned a LLM degree from Georgetown Law. In the past three years he has been engaged in a solo practice as a mediator. He is a member of the prestigious Mediation Panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and has successfully mediated numerous complex, high profile disputes. From the mid 1970's thru 2005, Mr. Cohen was an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School where he taught the Art of Collective Bargaining and other labor courses.

I had the pleasure of working with George on a number of AFM-related issues, and got to watch him negotiate on occasion as well. Any praise from me would be superfluous. Suffice to say that George is a great, great labor lawyer. The AFM was lucky to have him as General Counsel for many years, and the FMCS will be lucky to have him as Director.

Why unions? Part the Nth

An amazing re-creation (with actual audio and some video at the end) of unionized workers at work. The overlaying text is from the cockpit voice recorder; the rest is from ATC tapes.

Were these guys so good because they were unionized? It's not quite that simple. The FAA sets training and qualification requirements for both pilots and controllers. But certainly the fact that unionization helped pilots, in particular, bargain for good salaries, benefits and job protections helped workers build experience, and attract highly qualified applicants into the workforce in particular. An clearly experience was the key here (although, if the Hudson hadn't been below, this would not have ended happily).

Listen to just how damn cool they all sound.

Your dues dollars at work

It is entirely possible that I'm now being too petty. Maybe a statement like this really does advance the interests of the AFM. But given the number of press releases and other statements on this subject that must be clogging up the InterToobs right about now (Google was nearly brought down yesterday by people tracking this story), I can't imagine anyone paying attention to this one:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  
June 26, 2009                                                                         

CONTACT:  Carmen Group
Nicole Korkolis
202-316-1094
[email protected]
 
STATEMENT OF AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA PRESIDENT THOMAS F. LEE ON DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON
 
New York, NY – “The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. A musician, singer, composer, dancer, choreographer and businessman, Mr. Jackson was much more than a performer.  He was a revolutionary, a visionary, who changed the face of music forever and influenced musicians and our industry for more than forty years.
 
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Jackson.”

It's worth noting that Michael Jackson was not a member of the AFM, although apparently he had been long ago. Obviously there was no need for him to be; he was able to command above-scale wages without the AFM's help. But he wasn't a member.

Did this press release really serve the interests of the membership? It was a nice gesture. But even nice gestures cost money.

(added later) On the other hand, Michael Jackson made some AFM members a lot of money.Those who benefited from distributions from the PRM-SPF (as it used to be known) received much of their distributions from the sales of Michael Jackson's records, at least for a few years - or so I remember hearing, back in the day. No doubt even I benefited, as I got some SPF checks back when his records were selling millions of copies.

I still question whether sending out a press release about his death made any sense. But a big "thank you" would have been in order. Sadly, it's very hard to time those so they're not either too late or too early to mean anything to the thankee.