Allegro

Club Date Agency Signs

Musicians who work for Shloime Dachs will now be covered

Volume CVII, No. 12December, 2007

In late October, the Shloime Dachs Orchestra became the latest signatory to the Jewish Club Date Agreement.

As reported in the April 2005 issue of Allegro, Dachs signed a recognition agreement with Local 802, agreeing to negotiate. He participated in negotiations with other employers, then refused to sign the newly negotiated contract.

Local 802 filed unfair labor practice charges against Dachs with the New York State Employment Relations Board. The board issued a complaint in December 2006, citing Dachs’s refusal to bargain and execute the negotiated agreement.

After months of talks between Local 802, Dachs and his attorney, agreement was finally reached in October. Dachs signed the union agreement, and an undisclosed sum was paid for back benefits.

Local 802 is currently looking to organize other employers in the Jewish club date field. All questions regarding Dachs, or any employer who specializes in Jewish events – union or nonunion – should be directed to Principal Business Rep Peter Voccola at (516) 576-9436.

INVESTING IN LIVE MUSIC

Smash the glass! The Local 802 Executive Board approved a $12,000 budget to place ads in the Jewish Press and Jewish Entertainment Magazine. The ads list all of the entertainment offices who are signatories to the union’s Jewish Club Date Agreement and states that Local 802 recognizes those employers for using the finest professional musicians in New York.

The ad headline reads, “For Your Simchas, Hire the Best Musicians.”

(“Simchas” is the Hebrew word for “celebrations.”)

The ad goes on to tout these employers for the dignity and respect they extend to their musicians by treating them fairly, and by paying health and pension benefits.

The ad urges members of the Orthodox Jewish community to call union employers first for all their music needs. Several years ago Local 802 ran similar ads in the Jewish Press with excellent results.