August, 10, 2010

American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Appoints Shirk
as Assistant to the President for the Western United States

New York, NY – The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kenneth Shirk of Local 99 (Portland, OR) to serve as Assistant to the President for the Western United States.

As the AFM's West Coast representative, Shirk will be based in the Federation's West Coast Office and will provide service to locals and members in the western United States from that location. He will interface with all Federation Divisions and departments: Electronic Media, Symphonic, Travel & Touring, Organizing & Education, as well as AFM Field Staff. Shirk will provide administrative support to the Director of EMSD in the implementation of that division's policies and directives.

"To work for the members and locals in this new administration is both an honor and a privilege, and I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge head-on," said Shirk of his appointment.

"Ken and I attended our first AFM Convention together in 1983 as freshmen delegates," said AFM President Ray Hair. "Since that time, Ken rose to become one of the Federation's best administrators and brightest of International Officers. I am delighted to have Ken aboard the Federation's new team, and I know that we will benefit from his formidable intellect, his boundless energy and his wealth of experience in the months and years ahead," Hair said.

Shirk's tenure with the musicians' union began in 1983, when he served as Secretary-Treasurer for Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA) through 1986, then as Assistant Secretary for the AFM from 1987 to 1990, President of Local 76-493 from 1992 to 1995, and as Secretary-Treasurer for Local 99 (Portland, OR) from 1996 until 2008. Shirk is also a veteran of the International Executive Board, having served from 1991 to 2005. Shirk began his professional career as a Seattle freelance bass trombonist and tuba player in 1976.

June 28, 2010

AFM Elections

New Officers Elected

At the 2010 Convention of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), new officers were elected. The officers for 2010 through the next AFM convention are:

April 8, 2010

Muny Auditions

Application Deadline:  April 9, 2010

Scroll down for details.

March 16, 2010

The Musicians’ Association of St Louis, Local 2-197 AFM will picket the upcoming PBS taping of “Marvin Hamlisch Presents: The ‘70s, The Way We Were.”

The PBS taping is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 2:00 and 7:00 in the Bezemes Family Theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood University Campus in St. Charles, Missouri. The picket will take place at the entrances to the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts.

Neither Lindenwood's Center for Fine and Performing Arts nor the producer of the PBS program are signatory to the AFM’s Public Television Agreement. That agreement sets area and national standards for the wages and benefits of musicians on such productions. 

Stagehands from IATSE Local 6 and members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) St. Louis/Kansas City will join the Musicians in picketing the facility.

March 9, 2010
Printable Version  

America’s Oldest and Largest
Outdoor Musical Theatre

announces the following vacancy in
The Muny Orchestra

PRINCIPAL CELLO

AUDITION
April 17, 2010 ~ 9:00 a.m. at The Muny

The position calls for highly qualified applicants.
Employment will commence with the 2010 Season.
Interested applicants should send a letter and resume to:

The Muny
Orchestra Manager
#1 Theatre Drive
St. Louis, MO  63112
E-Mail:  munyinfo@muny.org
Fax:  314.361.0009
Application Deadline:  April 9, 2010

Audition details and repertoire will be furnished after receipt of your audition request and resume.
There will be sight-reading, as excellent sight-reading skills are required.
Please be aware the Muny Orchestra performs outdoors in the summer.

The Muny Orchestra is covered by a collective bargaining agreement
With the Musicians’ Association of St. Louis Local 2-197, AFM
The Muny is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

January 8, 2010

Winter Opera Saint Louis and
Musicians' Association of Saint Louis reach agreement

January 8, 2010. Winter Opera Saint Louis (formerly New Opera Saint Louis) and the Musicians’ Association of Saint Louis (MASL), Local 2-197 of the American Federation of Musicians, reached an agreement on a one-year contract for services of orchestra musicians. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement ensures that Winter Opera’s will have top area professional musicians in their orchestra. The agreement also supports their commitment to providing top quality musical performances and investing in the local artistic community. Winter Opera started in August 2007 as New Opera Saint Louis with a goal of providing quality opera performances during the winter months.

The next performance by Winter Opera is the Jules Massenet work Werther. It will be presented at the Missouri Baptist University Fine Arts Center Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. Werther will be presented under the artistic direction of Gina Galati with Scott Schoonover serving as orchestra conductor.

December 2, 2009

Andrew J. McCall named as Rhodes Scholar

The Musicians' Association of St. Louis (MASL) is proud to announce that Andrew McCall, the son of local 'members Alvin McCall and Anna Lackschewitz, has been chosen as a Rhodes Scholar and will begin the program in the fall of 2010. The Rhodes Scholarship program brings the brightest and most outstanding students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford in England.

Andrew's father Alvin is a cellist in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and his mother, Anna Lackschewitz, is a freelance violist in the area. Home-schooled through grade school, Andrew has always been a highly motivated student. At Oxford, Andrew plans to read for the B.Phil. degree in Philosophy. "Their faculty in philosophy is larger than that of any other school in the world," Andrew explained, "and their reputation is, well, it's Oxford."

Much like his parents, he also plans to pursue his love of music. Andrew is a music minor at Truman State University, and he studied violin in Vienna in the summer of 2008. He plans to bring his violin with him to Oxford, and he is also looking forward to exploring the different choirs there. Andrew the first Rhodes Scholar chosen from Truman State University and the first Rhodes Scholar from an MASL family. Recognizing what an excellent opportunity this is, Andrew remarked, "the chance to study at Oxford is far better than anything I could've hoped for."

October 6, 2009

The Musicians' Association of Saint Louis (MASL), Local 2-197 of the American Federation of Musicians honors its members who have made significant contributions to the Association and to its members.

The Owen Miller award recognizes the recipient's many years of loyalty, dedication, fellowship and fairness towards Local 2-197 and its members, as well as for action and deed by which the stature of all musicians everywhere is enhanced.

The 2009 recipients of The Owen Miller Award are:

Herb T. Drury
Don Schroeder
Janet Scott

The George Smith Diversity award recognizes those members who have demonstrated leadership in strengthening relationships among the many diverse members of Local 2-197.

The 2009 receipient of The George Smith Diversity Award is:

Charlene Clark

The Mel Bay award is awarded to a recently-deceased member in recognition of their lifetime of service to Local 2-197 and musicians everywhere.

In 2009 The Mel Bay Award recognizes:

Fred Del Gaudio

These members were honored at the 2009 MASL Awards Dinner Sunday, November 15, 2009.

More information about the Owen Miller, George Smith and Mel Bay Awards.

June 29, 2009
Printable Version  

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. 

June 25, 2009 

Welcome to the group CAVO

The newest members of the MASL professionals! 

June 19, 2009

Congratulations to MASL members Chuck Berry and The Bosman Twins
on being honored among the 100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans by the NAACP at their Centennial Celebration and Annual Freedom Fund Dinner.

Printable Version  

SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS
RATIFY NEW THREE-YEAR CONTRACT

Agreement reached more than one year ahead
of expiration of current contract

June 10, 2009 - The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 2-197, announced an agreement on a new three-year labor contract today.  The agreement was reached more than one year prior to the expiration of the current contract, providing four years of labor stability for the SLSO.  The new contract goes into effect on August 30, 2010, and runs through September 1, 2013.

Highlights from the new three-year agreement include:

• Annual minimum scale increases from $77,530 in FY10 to $81,892 in FY13, or 5.6% over the life of the contract in increments of 2.27%, 1.75%, and 1.5%, averaging 1.88% annually
• Pension contribution increases from 5% in FY10 to 7% in FY13
• 43rd week added to the season (included in the annual minimum scale increases) which provides additional services
• Ability to undertake local radio/non-commercial television broadcasts without additional compensation or approval

Fred Bronstein, SLSO President and Executive Director, said, �This is a �win-win� agreement.  It moves the orchestra forward very modestly following several years of almost �flat� compensation but in a fiscally responsible and disciplined manner that respects the challenges inherent in today�s environment.  At the same time, a 43rd week will facilitate additional revenue opportunities, which ties directly to the SLSO�s recently implemented Building Our Business revenue initiatives and new strategic plan, a multi-year vision that focuses intensely on audience building.�

Launched this season, Building Our Business has at its core new initiatives such as Casual Classics and SLSO Presents designed to build audiences and re-invigorate the SLSO brand.  Key successes in the 2008-09 Season now include: 

• Orchestral Series
  o Since January 1 - Seven sold-out or near capacity performances
  o 2008-09 per-concert average up 4% - total revenues/attendance
     stable
• Total ticket revenues for all products for the 2008-09 Season including new initiatives
  o Surpassed total ticket revenues from prior season by 14%, with 
     concerts remaining
  o Per-concert average attendance to date up 8% over prior year final,
     with total attendance up 7%

Bradford Buckley, Chairman of the SLSO Musicians� Council, said, �The negotiating process was a healthy one, with each side willing to listen, to reason, and to find common ground with the other. The agreement that has emerged is not only a good one for the musicians, but for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra as a whole.  We�ve proven to ourselves that labor and management can work together in good faith, which I believe reflects on the longtime stability and continued progress�both on the artistic side and on the business side�of the SLSO.�

Vicky Smolik, President of the Musicians� Association of St. Louis, Local 2-197, A.F.M., said, �Both union labor and SLSO management had goals in common that allowed us to reach a responsible agreement with stability in a tough economic time.  Adding a 43rd week allows us to make progress both financially and artistically.  The St. Louis community will now have even more opportunities to hear live music from our world-class orchestra.�

Bronstein added, �The early nature of this agreement and the productive manner in which it was reached builds on the JLMP process (Joint Labor-Management Partnership), a unique ongoing dialogue begun in April 2008 among key constituencies that has included substantive discussions over a range of issues important to the SLSO."

About Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1880, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest orchestra in the country and widely considered one of the world�s finest.  In September 2005, internationally acclaimed conductor David Robertson became the 12th Music Director and second American-born conductor in the Orchestra�s history.  Currently in the 129th season - the SLSO continues to strive for artistic excellence, fiscal responsibility and community connection.  In addition to its regular concert performances at Powell Hall, the SLSO is an integral part of the St. Louis community, presenting more than 250 free education and community partnership programs each year.  In June 2008, the SLSO launched Building Our Business which takes a proactive, two-pronged approach: build audiences and re-invigorate the SLSO brand making the SLSO and Powell Hall the place to be; and build the donor base for enhanced institutional commitment and donations.  This is all part of a larger strategic plan adopted in May 2009 that includes new core ideology and a 10-year strategic vision focusing on artistic and institutional excellence, doubling the existing audience, and revenue growth across all key operating areas.

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