Somehow those old thoughtless myths about musicians remain a part of our culture. Many of the classic stories are funny, but often the joke is on us. The dedication and exceptional contributions of professional musicians get lost in the belief that they “play” at night so should work at something more productive in the day.

The concertmaster of a top 10 orchestra signed up for the orchestra's annual fundraiser golf tournament and was placed in a foursome with a wealthy businessman who was also a member of the orchestra's Board of Directors. In the midst of the round, and the camaraderie of the sport, this patron of the arts praised his golfing partner as one of the best violinists in the country:

“It is really an honor to be able to play a game of golf with you and get to know you better. My wife and I have been moved so many times by your tremendous musicianship. I can't imagine how you do it. What do you do for a living?”

The “day job” comment is a prevailing slight to professionals who work long hours, following years of specialized training, to maintain their talent and perform at a level that others can never achieve.

Not only are we followed by puzzling stereotypes, we are governed by a special set of behavior rules. Hired for a gig some time ago, I was assisting a blind pianist by carrying his equipment and walking him through the most convenient route to the stage at an exclusive country club, when the club manager stopped us. He commanded us to turn around, walk out the entry, and down a slippery grass slope to a small doorway at the far side of the structure:

“Musicians use the back door.”

This skilled keyboard player was worn out, dirty, and embarrassed by the time we set up, but the band was excellent and well received. At the conclusion of the last tune of the night, with the club party a success, the host with the check asked if we would like to play another set. The band leader thanked him and proposed a fair price for the extra time, leaving the host in total shock:

“You want to get paid to party with us? We tell you how much we enjoy having your band here in our private club and you respond by wanting more money? I'm insulted.”

I suspect this same person would not be inclined to offer free services or products from his own business to every customer who is satisfied with the initial purchase.

And the world assumes we are not working when we really are. Once we were negotiating a music theater contract, and the topic shifted to rehearsal rates. A theater rehearsal can often run three to four hours with the musicians spending much of the time silently observing the director's preparation of each scene until the music is needed. So we brought this to the attention of the theater and suggested that more cautious organization of the rehearsals could result in the reduction of the musicians call time and the budget for their services. The theater management responded that the musicians should be bound for the full hours of the actors’ rehearsal period, sitting in their seats throughout, but paid based on the number of minutes they were actually playing notes. Imagine if a teacher were told that professional services will only be paid for the limited time they lecture to students.

Music is an ethereal concept, and many think it has no tangible worth. How many times have you been told that you should perform for free, or be recorded for free, because it would be “good promotion” and that your services have no real monetary value? If the music had no value, the purchaser would not be asking for your services. Try telling your plumber that you'll skip paying him this week, but you'll pass on the word about his quality work to help him “promote” his business.

Certainly many in our public believe musicians do not make anywhere near a normal livelihood:

“What did the musician say about his future plans after winning the lottery?” “I'm going to keep working as a musician until the money's all gone.”

To overcome these harsh cliches, your Union must repeatedly remind our audience of the extraordinary background, commitment, and talent of our members. AFM musicians are an asset to the community -- educated, dedicated, gifted, professional, and irreplaceable. You are entitled to the highest respect as you pursue this career.

As our elected representatives in Congress remain stymied by the national healthcare crisis, with millions uninsured, AFM Locals can carve out a small but important path to start an individual musician’s medical treatment. Our Local has paved the way through its partnership with Springboard for the Arts and the Neighborhood Involvement Program Community Clinic. (See details, President's Column Archives, November-December 2009.)

Every officer in the AFM recognizes the difficulty of providing meaningful healthcare opportunities to a membership where a day-to-day employer is hard to identify. Our Local Board paraded health insurance agents through our meetings for two decades, and none of them could offer an affordable package of comprehensive coverage that would reach freelance professionals. While we look with pride at the health coverage for our major orchestras, many other musicians within the Federation are scuffling to find any realistic avenue of health care.

The Twin Cities Musicians Union free medical examination voucher is a giant step. Good health care can flow from a single visit to a physician. Our Twin Cities Musicians Union members can take that step without paying a penny, and TCMU will even help with necessary follow-up care. We aspire to have the healthiest pool of musicians in the country.

When I hear one of our members is ill, my immediate concern is that the darned expense of that first visit to the doctor may have delayed diagnosis and contributed to the problem. We can’t have the physical illness of our members on our conscience as union representatives. Our Board recognized this problem and made a financial commitment to address it.

For potential new AFM members, this health program can be an obvious enticement. Does your union have a health care program for a musician who struggles to get a few casual gigs? Yes, and it’s free. Like our Federal government, the Union has not found a means of cost effective comprehensive health insurance for freelancers, but we can get you in the door to the clinic for free.

Health insurers traditionally write employer-based group packages, with substantial premium contributions by an identified consistent employer for a sizeable group of employees with varied health histories and ages; or they write individual insurance coverage where premiums are based on the individual’s health history. The troublesome buzzword in the national healthcare debate is “pre-existing condition”, which simply means that an insurance company writing individual policies, or even group policies, is not going to pick up the tab for a person with an identifiable prior health issue. Insuring an individual with a compromised health condition will likely require healthcare expenses in excess of the premium payment, while health insurance is based on actuarial analysis of insurable risk, and the insurer’s goal is to make a profit by insuring the right people at the right price. This system leaves a huge portion of our population and a large percentage of our members without access to meaningful healthcare. The United States is arguably the only industrial country and the only democratic nation with this disturbing deficiency of a basic human service. In the words of our country’s President, we need a program that will “bring down premiums, . . . cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses." But in the meantime, if you lack the resources to pay for a doctor’s appointment, avail yourself of a free medical examination and some follow-up care courtesy of your Twin Cities Musicians Union.

After 20 years in the music labor business, this writer is detecting a trend toward a more understanding and congenial tone at the bargaining table. And I believe this has occurred because our Union now has more respect and authority in the bargaining process.

From a management point of view, Unions generally approach the bargaining process with unreasonable and excessive expectations, asking for too much without full awareness of the financial limitations of the employer and its claimed need to retain control over the operation of its business. The challenge for a Union is to overcome that perception, and our AFM network and local resources bring substantial credibility to our bargaining goals:

• We are able to accurately identify our members as a superbly talented group, deserving of artistic and professional respect;
• We retain the absolute best and brightest representatives to advance the legitimate interests of our members;
• We approach discussions with a national pool of information and resources concerning this industry;
• We arrive with a designed, organized, and detailed presentation of our goals;
• We appear in the form of duly chosen and highly regarded committees with the maturity and experience to fairly hear management’s concerns, evaluate each issue, and present a considered and dignified response.

From this vantage point, our Union engenders a solid business-like demeanor, particularly effective in times of financial stress. The traditional bargaining relationship has been reversed of late, where unusually taxed employers are appealing to their musicians for assistance. It would not be productive for an employer to seek concessions with an arrogant or cavalier aura. The combination of a knowing and focused stance by our body of musicians, and the employer’s often compelling need for our flexibility, have fostered a more measured timbre in the bargaining process.

Current economic and financial realities have not, however, mellowed employers’ level of cooperation in matters involving unfair treatment of individual musicians or our observations about an employer’s mishandling of specific projects. There unfortunately remains throughout our community an old school employers’ penchant that professional musicians should be treated akin to low level corporate employees, with only modest acknowledgement of the nuances of this creative work and the value of individuality in our field. A musician’s backstage opinion that management has mishandled the hiring of a substitute musician is seen as fostering a hostile work environment. A musician’s movement of a music stand to one side to improve sighting is identified as a sexist act. An embarrassing failure to turn off a cell phone in a rehearsal is not met with a brief expression of disapproval, but instead is treated as evidence for discipline, including suspension or termination. A musician’s effort to enforce common industry standards to avoid injury or fatigue-induced performance problems, by spelling off instrumental parts, is characterized as a misguided failure to adopt the spirit of management’s philosophy. The Union’s effort to apply uniform rate hiring of extra musicians in a collaborative production is abruptly denied in a terse three sentence management response letter which shuts off all discussion in the name of some nonsense notion of managerial discretion.

As our employers recognize the humility and spirit of cooperation essential to large level negotiations, one would hope that a similar level of sensitivity and sophistication could find its way to their perspective on our individual members.

You Are the Union

The reputation of the music scene in the Twin Cities metropolitan area is extraordinary. Not out of duty, but to your benefit, we encourage all of our members to attend local music events, support their colleagues, and celebrate the special message of music available in this town. Consider the following examples of the incredible music experience and skill we all have the privilege to witness, as performed by our supremely talented members.

Two of the finest jazz clubs in the United States are located right here in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The Artists' Quarter features music legends and the mainstay of the local jazz scene as well as adventurous new performers on a nightly basis. The Dakota Jazz Club features internationally recognized stars, often supported by the best of the best who reside here, and also places on display locally-based ensembles with a national reputation.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra features many of the most highly recognized classical instrumentalists in the world, and this Grammy Award winning chamber ensemble possesses a timbre and presence unlike any other orchestra.

Years ago, the Minnesota Opera Company and its predecessor organization were identified as a metropolitan freelance group; this is now one of the best operated and high quality opera companies in the United States, with reviews constantly acknowledging the fine contributions of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra -- a tenured core of specialized players.

A recent review in the New Yorker magazine lauded the Minnesota Orchestra on tour at Carnegie Hall as the finest orchestra performing in the world. Recent recordings will quickly attract worldwide attention as unequaled accomplishments in the current symphony business.

Both orchestras are featured on public radio and their internet streaming and downloading options are at the forefront of the classical music industry.

One could travel throughout the United States and never find a better example of a Children’s Theater than that which performs adjacent to the Minnesota Institute of Arts complex throughout the year. Where else would you see a dedicated group of highly skilled live AFM musicians performing regularly for a children’s audience in large budget professional projects with child actors and vocalists on stage?

The Broadway musical scene continues to thrive in both of our cities, with venues of outstanding esthetic stature, including the historic State Theater, the historic Orpheum Theater, the Pantages Theater, the Ordway Theater and the associated McKnight Theater, and the upcoming Schubert Theater. The quality of show musicians in our community is as strong as any city in the United States.

The musicians in this town are largely responsible for the success of many smaller budget and independent theater presentations, including those at Theater Mu’, Theater Latte Da’, and the Mixed Blood Theater.

The longest standing dinner theater in the United States, and the only one featuring a regular tenured orchestra, is the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Its new management is fully committed to energetic performances with a live music accompaniment. There are three music shows performing simultaneously at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater this month.

The educational role of our musicians is unequaled, with heralded performances by the Minnesota Sinfonia and numerous classical and jazz ensembles.

The big band scene may be dead as a commercial market, but it retains a visible presence in the Twin Cities. The JazzMN Big Band, the Classic Big Band, The Russ Peterson Big Band, and the Cedar Avenue Big Band all take on the challenges of demanding jazz ensemble work.

And finally, the true mainstay of this industry can be found as our members perform at private parties, concerts, company engagements, weddings, centers of faith, and for local sports teams.

As we look forward to a renovated Minnesota Orchestra Hall, the developing Schubert Theater, and the proposed concert facility in the Ordway complex, there can be no doubt that the future of live music is secure in Minnesota. Check it out.

You Are the Union