Allegro
A few important bylaw provisions for members and officers…
by the Local 802 Leadership Committee
Volume 124, No. 9October, 2024
As the Local 802 election draws near, it’s important to review the fundamental principles of what it means to be a member of a union, and what taking on a leadership role as an officer entails.
WHY A UNION
An individual has no clout against a powerful employer. A union levels the playing field, providing collective bargaining power unavailable to the individual. But that power only exists when workers help create and actively support contracts between the union (representing the collective workers) and the employer. Without that commitment and solidarity from its membership, a union loses both its power and its purpose.
SERVING AS A UNION OFFICER
The officers of Local 802 include the president, both vice presidents, and the members of the Executive Board and Trial Board. The Local 802 bylaws clearly describe the responsibilities and duties for members and officers. Below are three important provisions that we’d like to highlight, but of course there are many more. We encourage you to download our bylaws and read them carefully. (The bylaws can be downloaded by any member of Local 802 in good standing. Log in to the Local 802 membership portal, then click on MEMBER DOCS from the top right, then scroll down and look for CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS.)
Article IX, Subdivision #1, Paragraph C:
Members shall not accept or play any engagement in the jurisdiction of the Union except pursuant to a contract approved and accepted by the Union. A member who violates this provision shall be subject to charges under the Bylaws of Local 802 and may be deemed to have given notice of their resignation from the American Federation of Musicians and any locals of the Federation to which they belong.
Article I, Section 5, Paragraph C:
Each member of the Executive Board shall receive $150 for each board meeting attended. The Executive Board shall meet no more than 104 times a year. Members of the Executive Board shall be permitted to accept any professional engagement, except standby, understudy or other non playing engagement, but not to act as contractor, leader or personnel manager during their terms of office. The acceptance of engagements as a solo performer without the accompaniment of other musicians shall not be construed as acting as a leader for the purposes of this paragraph. Members of the Executive Board, (President, Recording Vice President, and Financial Vice President) who are designated to represent the local as principal negotiators of the terms and conditions of members’ employment as musicians, or who are appointed to supervise any department of the local that enforces and/or administers any agreements or wage scales governing such terms and conditions of employment, shall not be permitted to work as musicians.
Article I, Section 6, Paragraph C:
The Trial Board shall meet no more than 52 times a year. For each Trial Board session attended, each Trial Board member shall receive $150, with the exception of the Chairperson and the Clerk who shall each receive $175. Members of the Trial Board shall be permitted to accept any professional engagements, except standby, understudy or other non-playing engagements, but not to act as contractor, leader or personnel manager during their terms of office. The acceptance of engagements as a solo performer without the accompaniment of other musicians shall not be construed as acting as a leader for the purposes of this paragraph.
Election rules
The Local 802 Leadership Committee published a summary of the Local 802 election rules in our column in the September 2024 issue of Allegro.
Your Local 802 leadership committee
The Local 802 Leadership Committee is: Deborah Assael (debassael@gmail.com); Bud Burridge (budburridge@me.com); Lynne Cohen (lacoboe@mindspring.com); Wende Namkung (wendeynamkung@gmail.com).
Previous articles in this series:
The duties of Local 802 part-time elected Executive Board officers