Allegro
Executive Board Minutes
August 20, 2002 -- September 17, 2002
Volume CII, No. 11November, 2002
TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2002
Meeting called to order at 11:35 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Financial Vice-President Hafemeister, Executive Board members Crow, Gale, Giannini, Landolfi, Reynolds, Rohdin, Shankin and Weiss, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens. Recording Vice-President Price excused while on vacation. Minutes taken by Hafemeister.
Minutes of Aug. 13 unanimously approved as amended.
President Moriarity reported that Local 802 legal counsel Lenny Leibowitz had recovered from his recent illness.
Moriarity handed out the Music Performance Trust Fund annual report.
Moriarity submitted a letter from Charles E. Mercer, president of the Union Label & Service Trades Department, thanking Local 802 for its contribution to the Union-Industries Show Exhibitors’ Party, which took place in Minneapolis, Minn. Moriarity passed around a Certificate of Appreciation in the form of a plaque also sent by the department.
Moriarity reported that Local 802 had made office space available to the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes for their use during their ongoing contract campaign. Local 802 had also offered any additional assistance needed to the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), the union representing the Rockettes. Discussion held.
Moriarity reported that he and Assistant Director Lennon had attended the AFM Unity Conference, which took place Aug. 14-18 in Ottawa. Attending were the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), the Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) and the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM). Moriarity reported that both ICSOM and ROPA had elected new officers. Discussion held.
Moriarity reported that he had begun discussions with Alan Eisenberg of Actors’ Equity about the possibility of a joint project to organize two nonunion touring productions.
Discussion held on the potential change in the Health Benefits Plan network from MagnaCare to Beech Street.
Moriarity raised the possibility of a change in the recently negotiated Mostly Mozart agreement. The final agreement of the parties was that the added fifth week of services would include rehearsals and up to two performances. Management was now suggesting that the week should include up to four performances. Moriarity would confer with the orchestra committee concerning the four performances.
Discussion held on the public relations and press coverage of the Mostly Mozart strike. Assistant Supervisor of National Contracts Schaffner present during the foregoing discussion.
A board member reported that a recording of the Broadway show Tom Sawyer was planned and that some members had been told that it would be used as accompaniment for a touring production. Schaffner recommended that we accept a limited pressing agreement and grieve any misuse that might occur.
Schaffner submitted a request from The BOB Company, LLC, producers of Broadway On Broadway, for a waiver of Public Service wages that would be due to supplemental conductors and musicians performing for individual shows. Discussion held, during which it was noted that the board had rejected the same request last year (see minutes of Sept. 4, 2001).
Motion made and carried unanimously to deny the request. However, any overscale payments may be applied to the public service live performance wages for the show.
Schaffner reported that the show Movin’ Out was currently in Chicago where the musicians appeared on TV station WGN. Schaffner reported that at the request of Local 10-208 (Chicago), he was working on a single project videotape agreement with Iron Mountain, the New York production company, to cover the work.
Schaffner reported that the MTV Music Awards program would take place on Aug. 29 and use a number of added musicians. The producers were attempting to use a student orchestra. A number of Local 802 contractors had refused to contract the date in the absence of a union agreement. Schaffner excused.
Senior Business Rep Jackson appeared before the board to present a grievance against Red Hat Entertainment (Michael Smith) for engagements that took place at the Supper Club. Smith failed to appear. The grievance arose when Smith failed to send in payrolls, benefits contributions and work dues from the period of May 2001 through September 2001. Jackson had attempted to set up a payment schedule but was unable to get Smith to comply. Jackson estimated that $2,300 is outstanding. She reported that Smith has a credit of $2,536.45 in his account. Motion made and carried unanimously to apply his credit to the outstanding debt against his account.
Jackson was further instructed to put together payrolls for the period of May 2001 through September 2001 after speaking to musicians, and to put a notice to Supper Club musicians in Allegro.
Meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2002
Meeting called to order at 11:35 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Hafemeister, Executive Board members Crow, Gale, Giannini, Landolfi, Reynolds, Rohdin, Shankin and Weiss, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison, Assistant Director Lennon, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens.
Minutes of Aug. 20 unanimously approved as amended.
Discussion held on unauthorized use of sound recordings.
Local 257 (Nashville) submitted a request for an ad in its 100th anniversary journal. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to purchase a black-and-white full-page ad for $850.
Motion made and carried unanimously to contribute $250 from TEMPO802 to the re-election campaign of Tom Duane, state senator for the 27th district.
Owens excused at 1:05 p.m.
Senior Business Rep Donovan appeared at the board to present a contract with Primary Stages for a production of Call the Children Home at Primary Stages, 354 West 45th Street. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.
Donovan submitted a workshop agreement with the Brooklyn Company, c/o James Triner, General Manager, Stuart Thompson Productions, for the workshop of Brooklyn at the Peter Norton Space, Signature Theatre, 555 West 42nd Street. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.
Donovan submitted a workshop agreement with 220 L.L.C./K.L. Management, c/o Rick Martini, for a workshop of The Mancini Project at City Center. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.
Donovan submitted an agreement with Jolson & Company, L.L.C., Roger Gindi, General Manager, for a production of Jolson & Company at the Century Center Theatre, East 15th Street. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve. Donovan thanked and excused.
Controller Bogert distributed financial statements for June 2002 and for January through June 2002. He reviewed and discussed them.
A request was received from the Jazz Foundation of America for the purchase of tickets to its fund-raising gala, “A Great Night in Harlem,” on Sept. 26. Motion made and carried unanimously to purchase two tickets at $250 each and two tickets at $100 each, for a total of $700.
Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the July 2002 vouchers.
Assistant Director Lennon distributed Local 802 tour and run-out guidelines for freelance concert orchestras. Review and discussion ensued. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the guidelines subject to some modification of the language.
Price distributed to the board a list of Broadway musicians for whom he had granted leaves of absence.
Meeting adjourned at 1:55 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2002
Meeting called to order at 11:35 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Hafemeister, Executive Board members Blumenthal, Crow, Gale, Giannini, Landolfi, Reynolds, Shankin and Weiss, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens.
President Moriarity submitted a request from management that it be permitted to use the recently-recorded limited pressing sound recording of a new version of the show Tom Sawyer to replace a live orchestra for performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Discussion held. The matter was referred to the AFM.
Legislative Director Beaudoin present at the board while Moriarity submitted a request by Carl McCall and Dennis Mehiel, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, for Local 802’s endorsement. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to endorse McCall and Mehiel.
Beaudoin reviewed Local 802’s endorsement of various political candidates. In response to a question from the board, she discussed access to the Local 802 mailing list for the Consortium for Worker Education.
Moriarity reported on his participation in a meeting held at Kennedy Airport, convened by New York City Councilmember James Sanders, as part of a forum on economic development for tourism. Discussion held.
Moriarity submitted an agreement with the New York City Commemoration Project Inc. for musicians’ services at various locations in New York City from Sept. 9-12. Discussion held, during which it became apparent that this agreement would supersede an earlier telephone poll of the Executive Board. Motion made and carried unanimously to reconsider the telephone poll of Aug. 22. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the agreement.
Assistant Director Lennon present at 12:40 p.m.
Recording Vice-President Price submitted a request from a supervisor for a compensation review as per the hiring agreement. Discussion held, during which Price distributed a memorandum that reviewed the duties and accomplishments of the supervisor.
Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the request, to be effective Sept. 15, and to investigate the amount of time scheduled by the supervisor for work performed for the Local 802 Health Benefits Plan with a possible reimbursement to be made from the Health Benefits Plan to Local 802.
Senior Business Rep Jackson present while Assistant to the President Dennison submitted a proposed agreement with New School University for the Guitar Study Center. Discussion held during which Dennison reviewed the agreement. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve. Jackson excused.
Business Rep Delia appeared before the board to submit an agreement with Big Apple Performing Arts, Inc., d.b.a. New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.
Assistant Director Lennon submitted some changes in language with reference to cartage payment for various instruments for the Single Engagement Classical/Ballet/Opera Wage Scale that reflect IRS tax rules applicable to cartage payments. Although cartage is not included in work dues and pension calculation, cartage
allowances are considered taxable income by the IRS. Reimbursement for the actual cost of cartage is non-taxable. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the change in language in the appropriate scale guidelines.
Lennon submitted a request from the School of American Ballet on behalf of the George Balanchine Foundation to use one minute and 20 seconds of the Lento section of the first movement of Dances Concertantes from the School of American Ballet Workshop archival recording of June 3, 2000, for an educational video project. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the request under the appropriate guidelines outlined in the agreement.
Moriarity submitted a request for reimbursement to the AFM of $300 for costs associated with a Local 802 theatre business rep accompanying and assisting the AFM theatre department in an organizing effort in Ohio regarding the nonunion orchestra in the touring production of Miss Saigon. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve. Discussion held on nonunion theatrical tours.
Controller Bogert distributed the August vouchers.
Meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2002
Meeting called to order at 11:15 a.m. Present: Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Hafemeister, Executive Board members Blumenthal, Crow, Gale, Giannini, Landolfi, Reynolds, Rohdin, Shankin and Weiss, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens. President Moriarity excused for personal reasons. Meeting chaired by Hafemeister.
Assistant to the President Dennison reported that Hearing Conservation Program Director Ellen Kelly would like to meet with a rank-and-file committee who would be able to help her gain insight into the needs of members with regard to the Hearing Program. Discussion held ,during which Executive Board member Blumenthal volunteered to meet with Kelly as a member of the rank-and-file committee.
Dennison distributed interim results of a Broadway theatre survey.
Dennison reported that President Moriarity attended a meeting with the editor and other writers for the cultural pages of the New York Times.
Controller Bogert submitted salary adjustments for two supervisors, to be effective on their anniversary date of hire. Motion made and carried to approve. Opposed: Landolfi.
Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the August vouchers.
Bogert submitted and reviewed financial reports of July and January-July. The reports reflected continuing losses, which prompted a discussion on the current general economic climate and specific financial conditions relating to Local 802 income. At a suggestion from the board, a discussion was to be scheduled by the officers on raising revenue.
Minutes of Sept. 3 unanimously approved as submitted.
Meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.