Musician's Union?!
My Grandma was telling me a story about the time that a representative from the Musician's Union showed up to a free show that her band, Lefty and the Boys, was performing for a local charity or some such. He threatened to blackball them and said they'd never be allowed to play with any union members, and that they were taking the money out of the mouths of hard-working musicians by playing for free.
This was back in the late 40's, and thankfully things have changed. In the creative and entrepreneurial sectors, unions don't hold much sway. But the Musician's Union is still around. Actually, it's the Musician's Association (using the word union would be too transparent). Check out their website, which includes this awesome Musician's Bill of Rights! (Emphasis added by me)
The Musician's Bill of Rights
Whereas, musicians, in addition to being artists, are also human beings entitled to human rights, and workers entitled to workers' rights, therefore let it be self-evident that these rights shall for now and forever include:
1. The right to enjoy a minimum wage, whether derived from live performance, royalties, or reuse, that is sufficient to provide a standard of support proportional to the entire investment of time and resources required to secure and perform said gainful employment.
2. The right to safe and healthy working conditions including protection from health threatening theatrical devices, demeaning and exploitive costumes or uniforms, excessive sound pressure levels, substandard travel arrangements, ingestion of second hand tobacco smoke, irrelevant recorded music before performances and during intermissions and the right to reasonable rest periods.
3. The right to quality education, health care, legal protection and representation, housing, financial services, child care, unemployment benefits and retirement security, all of which must be affordable within the economic limits defined by the minimum wage.
4. The right to equal employment opportunities based on musical qualifications and/or entertainment value regardless of race, ethnic background, age, gender, religion, cultural diversity or political affiliations.
5. The right to negotiate fairly on one's own behalf with universal recognition and legal enforcement of resulting contracts on agreed terms.
6. The right to free speech as defined in the U. S. Constitution Bill of Rights and applied to all musical performances and/ or recordings.
7. The right to ownership of all intellectual property rights as applied to compositions, performances, and recordings by all players and singers as well as leaders and publishers who are already protected.
8. The right to bargain collectively.
9. The right to freedom from discrimination.
10. The right to respect from society, equal to that afforded all other workers and professionals are also entitled to the same rights in exchange for the respective contribution of time and materials to place their work in society.
As Malcom Reynolds says to Jayne: "Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle". I'd argue that if you add "respect" to your list of "rights", you're going to be denied your rights an awful lot.
I'm in an amateur barbershop quartet now, and finding it easier to imagine being in Grandma's position. God I'm glad it isn't the 40's anymore.
This was back in the late 40's, and thankfully things have changed. In the creative and entrepreneurial sectors, unions don't hold much sway. But the Musician's Union is still around. Actually, it's the Musician's Association (using the word union would be too transparent). Check out their website, which includes this awesome Musician's Bill of Rights! (Emphasis added by me)
The Musician's Bill of Rights
Whereas, musicians, in addition to being artists, are also human beings entitled to human rights, and workers entitled to workers' rights, therefore let it be self-evident that these rights shall for now and forever include:
1. The right to enjoy a minimum wage, whether derived from live performance, royalties, or reuse, that is sufficient to provide a standard of support proportional to the entire investment of time and resources required to secure and perform said gainful employment.
2. The right to safe and healthy working conditions including protection from health threatening theatrical devices, demeaning and exploitive costumes or uniforms, excessive sound pressure levels, substandard travel arrangements, ingestion of second hand tobacco smoke, irrelevant recorded music before performances and during intermissions and the right to reasonable rest periods.
3. The right to quality education, health care, legal protection and representation, housing, financial services, child care, unemployment benefits and retirement security, all of which must be affordable within the economic limits defined by the minimum wage.
4. The right to equal employment opportunities based on musical qualifications and/or entertainment value regardless of race, ethnic background, age, gender, religion, cultural diversity or political affiliations.
5. The right to negotiate fairly on one's own behalf with universal recognition and legal enforcement of resulting contracts on agreed terms.
6. The right to free speech as defined in the U. S. Constitution Bill of Rights and applied to all musical performances and/ or recordings.
7. The right to ownership of all intellectual property rights as applied to compositions, performances, and recordings by all players and singers as well as leaders and publishers who are already protected.
8. The right to bargain collectively.
9. The right to freedom from discrimination.
10. The right to respect from society, equal to that afforded all other workers and professionals are also entitled to the same rights in exchange for the respective contribution of time and materials to place their work in society.
As Malcom Reynolds says to Jayne: "Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle". I'd argue that if you add "respect" to your list of "rights", you're going to be denied your rights an awful lot.
I'm in an amateur barbershop quartet now, and finding it easier to imagine being in Grandma's position. God I'm glad it isn't the 40's anymore.