Congratulations to Local 802 member Daryl Goldberg, who has won the 2024 Philoine Fried Award from the New York Labor History Association.

The prize is given to rank-and-file union members who make outstanding efforts to support their unions. It’s named after Philoine Fried (1917-2019), “a tireless volunteer who embodied the ideals of the American labor movement” and who was a past president of the association.

When the officers of Local 802 were approached with a request to nominate a member for the prize, there were a few names that came to mind immediately, but as soon as Daryl Goldberg’s name was mentioned, we were all in agreement. It had to be Daryl.

Daryl first joined the AFM in 1966 as a member of Local 10-208 in Chicago, her hometown. At the time, you had to audition to get into the union, and the audition consisted of sight-reading a Sousa march. Daryl is a cellist, but the union officer produced a violin part by mistake for Daryl to play, which she did, much to the astonishment of the official. So began her long-time commitment to the betterment and protections of musician colleagues.

Upon moving to New York City in 1973, Daryl joined Local 802. She was a member of the Coordinating Advisory Committee for several years. (The CAC is an independent, volunteer group of musicians representing various sectors of our profession entrusted to make some financial decisions on behalf of the union).

After winning a position with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in 1986, she served on that orchestra committee for several summers as both a committee member and chair. She has also been a member of the New York Pops orchestra committee since the inception of the orchestra and has served as committee chair since 2007. The New York Pops is one of our flagship orchestras, and the rates we negotiate there set the rates for many of our other freelance orchestras, so a lot hangs on the outcome of those negotiations.

2007 happens to be the same year I started working at Local 802 as a business rep. I was very lucky to work with Daryl from the beginning and I learned from the best. Daryl epitomizes the ideal committee member — smart, articulate, tough and patient. She doesn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?” She asks, “What can we accomplish together to improve the working lives of our colleagues?”

Sometimes negotiations stretch over years, taxing the patience and stamina of everyone involved. Besides that, it takes real courage to go head-to-head against your employer, and it requires a good instinct to know when the deal is done. Daryl has these qualities and instincts. Her unwavering and calm yet assertive advocacy for musicians has been an invaluable help to Local 802 at the bargaining table with the Pops and other orchestras over many years. Her innate intelligence and sense of fair play has made her a natural leader among her peers and has helped guide the union through hundreds of committee meetings and bargaining sessions.

As everyone in the labor field knows, this work is not for everyone. It is challenging, often frustrating, and requires a time commitment of many unpaid hours on the part of rank-and-file members and committees. As with most effective leaders, Daryl quietly perseveres without calling attention to herself. She makes her point, and she never waivers from the goal.

From my perspective, there is no one more deserving to win this prize. On behalf of all of us at Local 802, I am extremely proud to congratulate Daryl Goldberg on receiving the 2024 Philoine Fried Award.