CASUAL COMMITTEE REPORT 5/1/00

The committee recommends that the Local implement the following ideas (a Casual Rep will need to be hired to implement them):

MPTF:

• Provide assistance in filling out paperwork so musicians can just show up at the gig and play
• Create a concert series so musicians will have multiple performances rather than just one service; musicians will be more willing to play MPTF jobs if you offer them “10 concerts” than “1 concert”
• Schedule MPTF concerts to fill up “dead time”: summer, Mondays, etc.
• Encourage members to form small ensembles so that the Local has a variety of different acts in its “stable”
• Get educational grants to co-fund concerts in schools
  • Educate students on what “good” performances are
  • Educate students on the different styles of music (e.g. big band, classical; especially the “lost arts”) and their history

REFERRAL PROGRAM:

• Most musicians “want to play” and will take any job they can get; therefore the Union can only stop members from playing under scale by providing them with alternatives to these gigs
• Create a Booking Agency to compete with under-scale gigs
• Build connections with Parks Systems, Rotary Clubs, Signature Grand, etc. so that they call the Local first when booking musicians
• Average people are willing to listen to tape and don’t really know the difference; educate them on what “good music” is and how it doesn’t necessarily cost more than just hiring a DJ

ORGANIZING

• Recruit leaders and convince them that filing contracts for sidemusicians is “the right thing to do”
• Start by bringing in several leaders that are doing club-date full time (e.g. Allison, Georgini, DeRose)
• Discourage students/colleges from displacing professional musicians (e.g. Harid)
• Educate members and students on the benefits of standing together as a union
• Investigate hiring a Rep for a 6-month trial period to organize club-date scene

RECRUITMENT

• Many freelance musicians have day jobs and are not interested in the “perks” such as health insurance; perhaps at first target just full-time freelancers?
• Create an appealing package for freelancers (contract assistance, referrals/bookings, discounts, etc.)
• Union is seen as a threat and musicians are afraid to loose what work they already have; offer them alternatives rather than jeopardize what they already have

GENERAL

• Make scale category definitions more specific so that purchasers cannot abuse musicians by paying scale for an incorrect category (particularly Noncommercial)
• Eliminate Low-Budget Symphonic Category