The figures are in — and the news is good. The Recording Department recovered over $2.5 million in wages and benefits for musicians in 2007, including money for grievances, late penalties and settlements. That’s the most money ever recovered by that department or any department in the union. And that money went back into members’ pockets.

“We owe the good people at the Recording Department a huge debt of gratitude,” recording musician and Local 802 member Ralph Farris told Allegro. “They work tirelessly on our behalf, and they continue to produce the most extraordinary results.”

Recording musicians earned a total of about $25 million in wages in 2007. So the amount of grievances collected — $2.5 million — represents about 10 percent of the figure. Speaking in averages, this means that for every $500 earned by a musician under a union recording contract, there can be a “missing” $50 that’s owed to them.

Often, musicians don’t realize they’ve been underpaid because they’re not always aware of what they’re due under union contracts. For instance, an “overdub” can be listed as a “double” — a simple sleight-of-hand that can cost a musician money.

Other times, musicians may know that their contract was wrong but they are intimidated to confront the contractor or producer.

“The job of each department at Local 802 is to vigorously enforce the contracts so that musicians don’t have to worry at all,” said Local 802 President Mary Landolfi. “However, when musicians speak up, it helps. Members can always count on their calls to the union to be handled confidentially.”

Landolfi added, “For a variety of reasons, employers often underpay musicians. Sometimes this happens mistakenly; sometimes it’s willful. Musicians count on their union to be vigilant in recovering money owed to them. The Recording Department and our other departments are working hard to accomplish that.”

As recording work becomes more competitive, the role of the union in ensuring that musicians are paid what is supposed to be paid becomes even greater. Every dollar counts.

“I really appreciate the effort that Jay Schaffner and the Recording Department puts into recovering money due to us,” said recording musician and Local 802 member Sammy Merendino.

Merendino added, “Last year I got a call telling me I had some checks. They were for a Saturday sports broadcast that Jay Schaffner had been trying to collect for years. It was quite a sizable amount, and without the AFM and Local 802 staying on top of it, I never would have seen a dime. Still another reason to be a union member!”

Recording leader and Local 802 member Joel Beckerman agrees. “Jay Schaffner and the recording department are top notch,” Beckerman told Allegro. “They make extraordinary efforts daily on behalf of musicians. Their patience, persistence and resourcefulness are amazing! I’m tremendously grateful for all they have done for me and all the musicians on the sessions I lead.”

Another recording leader echoed this sentiment. “I am most thankful for the tenaciousness of Local 802, and in particular, thankful to Jay Schaffner for staying on top of getting payment for the contracts which I had filed as a leader,” said Local 802 member Peter Fish. “Jay’s professionalism, both in dealing with me and with the employer, is exemplary. Without Jay and 802 I could have never collected the wages — as well as late and grievance fees — owed to me and my sidemen without alienating either side in the process. Thanks for a job well done.”

Jim Hynes, a Local 802 member who also contracts recording work, told Allegro that “Jay Schaffner and his staff have always worked hard on behalf of the players who have done recordings that were not paid in a timely fashion. He has always been a valuable asset to all union musicians and always will be. On behalf of all the players involved with CBS, we thank him for his tireless efforts.” 

The next issue of Allegro will report on the grievance dollars collected by other departments, which were not available at press time.

STAYING UNIFIED

In other recording news, Recording Supervisor Jay Schaffner recently met in Chicago with representatives from the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Musicians Association. Schaffner was accompanied by Recording Musicians Committee member David Weiss. The meeting was organized by AFM President Tom Lee to discuss matters of mutual interest affecting New York and Los Angeles recording musicians.