Musicians' Association Of Hawaii /Local 677

Members Elect Union Officers and Board

Part of the duties of the directors of the Musicians Association of Hawaii is to serve on subcommittees dealing with different aspects of the union=s function. Each board member is appointed by the President to chair at least one subcommittee, and to serve as a member of several others. The President is a member of all committees by virtue of his office, and administrative staff join committees as their skills and knowledge are needed. Members of the Association who are not board members may also be appointed to the committees, at the discretion of the committee chair.

The Finance Committee met on July 22 to discuss with the local=s accountant the method of bookkeeping and financial reporting that the Musicians Association and the building corporation use. Adjustments were made to make the union=s

financial situation easier to understand. For more on the union=s finances, see ?Carrying the Weight of the World,@ page 3, and the ?President=s Message,@ page 1.

* Robert Karol=s committee positions will be filled by his successor on the board.

from Milton Carter

This local has some very good news to report in the generous $50,000 gift from Unity House to the Honolulu Symphony, helping to stabilize the Symphony=s finances to the benefit of our musicians. I am very grateful to Tony Rutledge of Unity House for this crucial support. A special thanks to former Local 677 board member A. Van Horn Diamond for his

There is also bad news, unfortunately, about the local=s own finances. The local must re-evaluate the services we offer, and fees may have to added for these services. As discussed by the House Rules Committee, the use of rehearsal rooms by non-members must be better regulated, and use by expelled members must stop. If we can=t get the cost of running the building under control, the whole building might just go away. This would be tragic.

Let=s act like a union and get that strong feeling of solidarity. This is your union; take care of it B or lose it. It=s your choice.

of Robert Karol

As related by Bob=s brother-in-law Joseph Ablow, Bob taught his children about ?simple things like playing golf and sailing, and about complex things like respecting everyone no matter what their background and remaining steadfast in supporting liberal ideals, especially in an increasingly conservative world. But what would one expect from someone whose own father ran for mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania on the Socialist ticket (and lost) or who was named in honor of the 19th century liberal agnostic Robert Ingersoll?@

Bob joined the Boston Symphony in 1950 and during his years in Boston, taught viola at Boston University. ?Bob was an enthusiast, and that was an important component of his teaching. But there was an orderly and rational quality to his teaching, as well. Bob was so ebullient, so full of good humor and often, it must be admitted, with bad jokes, that it was possible not to attend to the intelligence and lucidity of his musical thinking. It was this and his innate sensitivity to the students that made him such a gifted mentor.

?Bob became fascinated with Hawaii and its culture during his stay here as a medic in the Navy during the Second World War. Coming here in 1977 was the realization of his dream to return. He felt a love for the landscape and the atmosphere of the place in a way he never seems to have had for New England.

?Bob was a zealot about music because his life was dedicated to entering into music=s center, into its core. Those of us who knew him well understood this and long ago learned to accept the excesses of his passion.@

As is provided in the union bylaws, the Local 677 Board of Directors will appoint someone to fill the remainder of Bob Karol=s unexpired term.

Labor Puts Honolulu Symphony Fund Drive Over the Top

A gift of $50,000 from Tony Rutledge and our union brothers and sisters at Unity House, Inc. capped the Honolulu Symphony=s recent $1 million fund drive, allowing the Symphony to eradicate its past debt and enter the 1998-99 season in the black.

Unity House was founded in 1951 by Arthur Rutledge, legendary leader of the Hawaii Teamsters and the Hotel Workers (H.E.R.E.), as a labor support organization. This private, non-profit organization=s mission is dedicated to supporting, protecting, and improving the quality of life for Hawaii=s workers. It provides monthly child care grants, scholarships, housing assistance, a retirees= center, and other help for the workers of Hawaii.

The arts, too, are important in building a happy, healthful life for working people. This gift by Unity House to the Honolulu Symphony affirms the role of the Symphony in the community as a valuable cultural resource, enhancing the quality of life for all of Hawaii=s people.

There was also a special labor motivation for the Unity House gift. Beginning last May, the Symphony management began approaching the Musicians Association about possibly needing to reopen our collective bargaining agreement to make next season=s budget balance. The Symphony had identified about $50,000 in cuts they might ?have to make@ unless other revenues could be found. The Unity House gift provided those revenues, and also resolved in our favor a grievance that had been brought by the Musicians Association against the Honolulu Symphony Society involving the timely filling of the required Assistant Principal Horn position in the orchestra.

another $500,000 to match it. Thanks especially to our union friends at Unity House, the match was met.

West Coast Musicians Make Chorus Line A Union Show in Hawaii

Early in June, Michael Largarticha got a call from Tom Moffitt and Encore Attractions, presenters of the August 1998 run of A Chorus Line in Blaisdell Concert Hall. Michael was asked to put together a budget for musicians= services which Willie Barton, the local contractor for musicians, then presented to Moffitt and Encore.

A few weeks passed, and Michael started receiving calls from California, from musicians who had been offered a ?Hawaii vacation plus $600@ to play A Chorus Line in Honolulu. Many of the musicians who called were concerned about being so approached, saying that if we didn=t do informational picketing and challenge this kind of non-union hiring, it would be the end of union theatre in Hawaii.

Michael was not about to let a job go non-union without a fight. He alerted the Theatre Musicians Association (the AFM=s newest player conference) and the West Coast AFM locals where scab musicians would first be sought. The AFM locals on the West Coast, particularly Local 47 in Los Angeles, Local 6 in San Francisco, Local 153 in San Jose, Local 325 in San Diego, and Local 7 in Orange County, got the word out to their members about the attempt to hire musicians for a non-union Chorus Line in Hawaii.

This experience sends a powerful message about union solidarityCwhen the promoter couldn=t get enough good players to accept substandard work, he had to come back to the union. Not just theatre musicians, but all musicians in Hawaii, owe a huge debt of gratitude to the courageous West Coast musicians who protected our jobs by turning down work for themselves, and to our sister locals on the mainland who stood up for unionism, no matter where in the Federation it was threatened.

As a result, four local union musicians worked the show, and the musicians travelling with the show were guaranteed at least local union scale. It is a small victory for us in terms of dollars, but a huge one in terms of the power that union members sticking together, even thousands of miles apart, can have.

Now the bill moves to the Senate. Please urge Senators Inouye and Akaka to do all they can to stop this damaging amendment.

In the next few months, we will review and update Local 677 local standard wage scales and working conditions. A Wage Scale Committee will be appointed by the President. If you want to make suggestions to the Committee, please submit your ideas in writing to Michael Largarticha.

The primary need of working musicians and the union=s first duty B negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements B was for the first time being fully met at Local 677. Problems with unemployment insurance, workers compensation, payroll, contract enforcement, pension and Social Security credits, and other such matters associated with employment were being addressed. Anything the union could do to help musicians in the workplace, even if the union was under no obligation to offer assistance, was being done. And on top of that, anything the union could do to help musicians outside the workplace or ancillary to the workplace was also being done. Local 677 had become a real trade union.

The extra services that were now offered by Local 677 B access to fax machine, copy machine, phones, computers, studios, board room, postage meter, office supplies, even staff time B became so commonplace that members began to take them for granted, and some even exploited them, using the union=s staff, facilities and goodwill for their personal gain. Because of the willingness of the union=s staff to personally absorb the cost, in dollars, energy, and time, of our abundant use of the union, we have gotten the idea that this could go on forever.

Well, it can=t. Those who take unfair advantage of our union=s openness fail to make the connection between these

services and the revenue required to pay for them. Instead of holding to an every-man-for-himself attitude, bleeding the union until it dies from loss of blood, we must remember that unionism is the exact opposite of that B banding together, supporting each other, for the common good.

All the union=s officers and staff have taken pay cuts. They have rented out as much space in the building as possible to generate income that way. Nevertheless, the local is on the verge of financial starvation, not because of poor money management, but because the members have failed to understand what a union is and take their fair share of responsibility for it.

Michael Largarticha=s recent battle with severe sciatica, and his resulting inability to perform all the many jobs he has been doing around the union for years, has brought our local=s deep vulnerability to the surface. As the local lost more and more money over the years, Michael took upon himself additional duties to save the expense of hiring someone else to do them. Extra office work, custodial work, and groundskeeping, along with his more-than-full-time job as business agent for the local, became his everyday routine. But even more oppressive than the physical overwork was the emotional strain, the fear that we would be forced to sell our building in the current depressed real estate market, not knowing where the money would otherwise come from to get the union out of debt and bring this vicious, destructive cycle to an end. No one man, no matter how driven or devoted, can or should carry a whole union on his back. Maybe that=s why Michael=s finally broke.

Some members have stepped forward to provide extra help to Michael and Milton during this time of struggle. But the thanks they have received from many of the members is an increase in the number of dark dates worked and a resulting reduction in work dues income; members undercutting and stealing gigs from each other, and then bitching because the union doesn=t do more to help them find work; members, contractors and employers who use the union as if it were their own personal business office/storage locker but pay no rent or fees; a line at the copy machine of musicians xeroxing what seems to be their entire music libraries at union expense; faxes and phone calls to Hong Kong and Europe charged to the union phone bill; and an unending flow of unreasonable demands of all kinds on the staff, officers and facilities without regard for the cost or inconvenience of meeting those demands.

The result: We have operated in the red for years, despite cutting the union=s expenses to the bone. The Association has no cash reserve and has gone deeply into debt. We must now find a way to change this, or sell the building.

Even if our debt can be erased, the problem is not solved. Our deficit mode of operation must stop if we are to avoid accumulating more debt. Revenues must go up, or services B and maybe even the union itself B must go down. The hemorrhaging cannot go on unchecked.

Seminars in Honolulu

involved in making a recording, union members and non-members alike, and not only musicians, but also record producers and all others in the recording industry. Pass the word, and save these dates on your calendar.

[ Home ] [ Milton Carter ] [ Keola Vol.III Issue 1 ]

Copyright 2001
For problems or questions regarding this web contact AFM677@aol.com
Last updated: April 15, 2006.

Website Designed by CP creaproj@creaproj.com