TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2000

Meeting called to order at 11:25 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Landolfi, Executive Board members Blumenthal, Crow, Gale, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin, Simon and Weiss, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens.

April 4 minutes unanimously approved as amended.

President Moriarity reported to the board on the installation of the Broadway theatre prototype remedial ventilation systems. Originally budgeted at $165,000, the expenditures for installing new systems at two theatres – the Palace and Imperial – and the design for a third, at the Majestic, amounted to $146,436. The cost to install the system at the Majestic Theatre is estimated to be $72,102, for a cost overrun of $53,538. Moriarity indicated that he would solicit the balance of the expense from the trustees of the Theatre Sick Pay Fund or Health Benefits Fund.

Moriarity reported that facilitator for strategic planning, Peter Lazes of Cornell, will meet with the board on April 18 for a preliminary discussion. In light of that, Moriarity distributed his analysis of a presentation on strategic planning made by labor strategist Paul McCarthy at the combined New York-New England States Conference of Musicians recently held in Plymouth, Mass.

Board member Hafemeister made a presentation based on her notes from a July 1998 Cornell University workshop on strategic planning for unions, given by then-AFL-CIO Education Director Bill Fletcher. Discussion held.

Financial Vice-President Landolfi requested the organizational discount for the local’s initiation fee for Mayah musicians (see April 4 minutes) who wish to join the union. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

Landolfi submitted letters from the orchestra committee of the Riverside Symphony in support of the previously submitted request by management for a waiver of payment for the walk-through. (See April 4 minutes.)

The following motion was taken from the table:

Motion made to approve the request for this elementary school educational activity in a non-precedent setting on a one-time-only basis, subject to a two-thirds secret ballot vote of the orchestra. Discussion held. An amendment to the motion was offered and seconded that no playing take place during the walk-through. Carried unanimously. The original motion with the amendment was carried. Opposed: Blumenthal, Rosen, Shankin, Simon and Weiss.

Member David Schneck appeared before the board to recommend that the MEMO program, in which he had participated recently, be made mandatory for new members in lieu of the regular orientation program. Schneck excused.

Landolfi presented an agreement with Jazzpazazz Preservation Society, Inc., for the employment of musicians. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve. Landolfi requested the organizational discount for the initiation fee for any musicians working under this contract who wish to join the union. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

Landolfi presented an agreement with the School of American Ballet, Inc., for the employment of musicians for its annual graduation exercises. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve. Landolfi requested the organizational discount for the local’s initiation fee for any musicians working under this agreement who wish to join the union. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

Meeting recessed at 1:00 p.m.

Meeting resumed at 2:15 p.m.

Present: Moriarity, Price, Landolfi, Crow, Gale, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin, Simon, Bogert and Owens.

Business Rep Donovan appeared before the board to present an agreement with Weissberger Theatre Group for a production of Enter the Guardsman at the Vineyard Theatre. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

Donovan distributed an agreement with Albert Poland, producer of Dirty Blonde at the Helen Hayes Theatre, based on the terms and conditions of the agreement between Local 802 and the League of American Theatres and Producers (the Broadway agreement), with some exceptions. The wage is 85 percent of that specified in the Broadway agreement, and pension is set at 8 percent. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

Donovan presented an agreement with Ari Kaduri, producer of a show entitled Borscht Belt Buffet at Town Hall. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

A request was received from the Actors’ Work program of the Actors’ Fund for a contribution. Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) Trustees Moriarity, Price and Landolfi voted to donate $1,000 to this program from the ERF.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture requested a renewal of Local 802’s membership. Motion made and carried unanimously to renew the membership for $250, with the proviso that Moriarity write a letter requesting that the Schomburg Center sign a CBA for musical events they sponsor at the center.

Motion made and carried unanimously to donate $100 from TEMPO802 to (NYS Assemblymember Michael J.) “Bragman for Assembly Re-Election Committee.”

Motion made and carried unanimously to donate $100 from TEMPO802 to (NYS Assemblymember) “Friends of Suzi Oppenheimer.”

Motion made and carried unanimously to donate $250 from TEMPO802 to NYC Councilmember Stephen DiBrienza for his campaign for Public Advocate in 2001.

Motion made and carried unanimously to donate $250 from TEMPO802 to “Committee to Elect (NYS Assemblymember) Brian McLaughlin.”

Blumenthal present at 3:00 p.m.

Public Relations Director West appeared before the board to request that Local 802 purchase an ad in the program for a May 7 rally at Madison Square Garden urging a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to purchase a quarter-page ad at $250. The board directed Moriarity to write the text for this ad.

Price submitted a letter from Dean Karahalis, a.k.a. Concert Pops of Long Island, seeking a waiver of penalties for late payments for a proposed series of concerts to be sponsored by Nassau County. The request, according to his letter, is due to the fiscal difficulties the county is experiencing. Discussion held. The board directed Price to have Business Rep Voccola appear before the board with the relevant information from Nassau County services.

Discussion held on the Film Funds Trust Fund.

Landolfi reported on the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, which is holding rehearsals for the new season at the 92nd Street Y.

Crow excused at 3:30 p.m.

Controller Bogert distributed the vouchers as of March 31.

Discussion held on the scoring of the synthesizer in the Broadway show Aida.

Meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2000

Meeting called to order at 11:40 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Landolfi, Executive Board members Crow, Gale, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin, Simon and Weiss, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison, Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens.

Financial Vice-President Landolfi distributed a summary of agreement with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

President Moriarity distributed a report from the AFM Officers Edge publication that set forth the AFM’s official position on consent/waiver requests from phono agreement signatory companies regarding an individual musician’s right of publicity. Discussion held. It was agreed that a reprint of this article will be published in Allegro.

Board member Blumenthal present at 11:50 a.m.

Facilitator Peter Lazes of the Cornell University School of Industrial Relations appeared before the board at Moriarity’s invitation (see April 11 minutes) to discuss strategic planning procedures for Local 802. He made a presentation about his background and his current activities as a strategic planning facilitator for unions, and requested ideas and input from the board to frame the discussion for the strategic planning process. After the discussion, Lazes summed up various ways of handling the process and outlined possible costs. The board thanked Lazes for his presentation.

Gale excused at 1:25 p.m.

Meeting recessed at 1:30 p.m.

Meeting resumed at 2:35 p.m.

Present: Moriarity, Price, Landolfi, Crow, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin, Simon, Weiss, Dennison and Owens.

Moriarity distributed a letter he had sent to Roy Somlyo, President of the American Theatre Wing, protesting the inclusion of Contact, a dance play, in the Tony Awards’ “Best Musical” category. Moriarity noted that no music – vocal or instrumental – had been created for this production, and pointed out that the award, which recognizes creative merit, should be reserved for a work that meets those guidelines by including new music. Discussion held.

Gale present at 2:45 p.m.

Public Relations Supervisor West appeared before the board to present a budget and to request an allocation for music to be donated by Local 802 for Museum Mile Day on June 13. The music would involve two trios, one jazz and one Latin group, performing at the Museum of the City of New York during a presentation that day. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to make up to $1,500 available for the payment of musicians for Museum Mile Day. West excused.

Senior Business Rep Voccola appeared before the board to discuss requests submitted to the board by the Concert Pops of Long Island (see April 11 minutes). Discussion held, during which Voccola indicated that he had ascertained that the current fiscal procedures for payment in Nassau County would be the same as in previous years. Motion made and carried unanimously to deny all requests for waiver of late payments and to deny the request for a reduction in scale as delineated in the CBA for the Concert Pops of Long Island.

Assistant Supervisor of National Contracts Schaffner appeared before the board to request that the study of independent recording companies prepared by Stanley Aronowitz and Michael Roberts be made available to the RMA and all other interested members. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve this request.

Discussion held on low-budget recordings. Schaffner excused.

April 11 minutes unanimously approved as amended.

Recording Vice-President Price reported to the board that he had granted the following leaves of absence:

1. Matt Dine, from the Broadway production Jekyll & Hyde, from May 8-July 12, to perform out of town.
2. Clint De Ganon, from the Broadway production Footloose, from April 26-May 29, to perform out of town.
3. Heidi Stubner, from the Broadway production Annie Get Your Gun, from April 14-23, for personal reasons.
4. Mitchell Weiss, from the Broadway production Les Misérables, from April 18-30, for personal reasons.
5. Lawrence Feldman, from the Broadway production Saturday Night Fever, from April 18-23, for personal reasons.

Moriarity reported that NYS Assembly Majority Leader Bragman had requested Local 802’s endorsement of his candidacy for re-election from the 118th Assembly District. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve.

A letter was received from NYS Assemblymember Catherine Nolan asking for Local 802’s endorsement of Walter McCaffrey for Congress. Nolan also indicated that she will be facing a primary challenge in her own candidacy for the NYS Assembly and asked for Local 802’s help. Motion made and carried unanimously to endorse Walter McCaffrey for Congress. Motion made and carried unanimously to contribute $250 from TEMPO802 to Catherine Nolan’s campaign for re-election to the NYS Assembly.

Moriarity advised the board that he had accepted an invitation to be an honoree of “Inside Broadway” at their annual benefit, to be held on June 5. He requested the board’s support for the event. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve $1,000 for a full-page ad in the event journal that will list Local 802 officers and Executive Board members, and the purchase of four tickets at $150 each, for a total of $1,600.

Crow excused at 3:45 p.m.

Further discussion held on the appearance of facilitator Peter Lazes before the board, and the information he had submitted.

Moriarity reported to the board on the status of the current Radio City Music Hall negotiations.

Meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2000

Meeting called to order at 11:20 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Landolfi, Executive Board members Crow, Gale, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin and Simon, Controller Bogert, Assistant to the President Dennison.

April 18 minutes unanimously approved as amended.

Jazz Advisory Committee Liaison Owens present at 11:28 a.m. Board member Blumenthal present at 11:36 a.m.

Discussion held on the proposed bylaw that would eliminate slate designation on ballots for election of officers, which has been submitted for the June bylaw meeting.

Board member Weiss present at 11:42 a.m.

Motion made to report the bylaw unfavorably. Motion made and carried unanimously to table the previous motion pending further discussion.

President Moriarity reported that the search committee for a Financial Vice-President met on April 24, and that he had mandated the committee to seek out the best possible candidate for the position for recommendation to the Executive Board.

Financial Vice-President Landolfi excused from the following discussion.

Discussion held on Local 802 policy for determining the payment of officers’ severance pay. It was decided to continue the past practice of calculating the annual salary for each year of service, then using the appropriate percentage of that amount to arrive at the severance figure. Motion made and carried unanimously to continue the past practice of payment of officers’ severance pay. Landolfi returned to the meeting and was informed of the board’s decision.

Public Relations Director West appeared before the board and submitted a budget of the estimated costs for initial steps in Local 802’s Audience Awareness Campaign. The budget included radio announcements on WINS and advertising insertions. The current cost as outlined will be $22,500. Discussion held. Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the budget as submitted.

Moriarity distributed a document entitled “Local 802 Strategic Plan/Plan of Work for 2000-2002 Process.” Discussion held about considering additional candidates for facilitator to work with Local 802.

Price informed the board that the Anne Walker Scholarship Committee met and selected the following five applicants to be awarded $500 each: Linda Kaplan, Sheila Browne, Deborah Weisz, Brian Bonvissuto and Robert Gerardi. The committee consisted of Jay Blumenthal, Bob Cranshaw, Gayle Dixon, Julius Grossman and Jimmy Owens. The recipients will be notified and the committee thanked for their work in letters from the Recording Vice-President’s office.

Meeting recessed at 1:00 p.m.

Meeting resumed at 2:20 p.m.

Present: Moriarity, Price, Landolfi, Crow, Gale, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen, Shankin, Simon, Bogert, Dennison and Owens.

Discussion held on strategic planning. The draft submitted earlier was reviewed, and it was decided to move forward on the first two points. All 802 supervisors and department heads will be asked to provide a detailed report on their area(s) of responsibility, and a review and discussion of each area will be made by the Executive Board during May and June. Motion made and carried unanimously to move forward with items 1 and 2 of the Strategic Plan/Plan of Work Process.

Recording Assistant Supervisor Schaffner, Director of New Organizing Dubnau and Senior Business Rep Seymour appeared before the board to discuss the proposal for phase two of a recording study of independent labels that is projected to be completed by Professor Stanley Aronowitz and Graduate Fellow Michael Roberts, who had conducted phase one of the project. Case studies will be undertaken for four record labels. Discussion held, during which the board agreed on an all-inclusive fee of $12,000 to complete the study and issue the report. This will be payable in three installments of $4,000 each: on June 1, August 1, and on completion, delivery and issuance of the report.

Motion made and carried unanimously to approve the project as outlined above, with the proviso that interaction by Aronowitz and Roberts with Local 802 staff be more intensive so as to ensure that the focus of the research is directed as needed, and to receive input from the staff on a timely basis.

Schaffner reported to the board that a Brazilian film score that had been recorded in New York City in 1999 for release in Brazil only is now being released in the United States. The sound track is being released on Sony Records, an AFM signatory. Schaffner suggested that we make a claim with Sony for the sound track with a filed contract, and try to clear up signatory status on the film. Discussion followed.

Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.