Local 802’s Live Music/Public Relations Campaign is moving ahead. This campaign to promote the appreciation and awareness of live music is being developed and facilitated by a Live Music/Public Relations subcommittee appointed by the 802 Executive Board. Its mission is “to create and facilitate a public relations campaign that will promote an awareness and appreciation of live music, and to serve as a focus for membership involvement in such a campaign.”

The union has retained the services of Vito Turso, a public relations consultant from the firm of Dan Klores Communications, to assist in the campaign. He has a long history in New York City government, and has been with the firm for over six years. His last position in government was as Deputy Sanitation Commissioner under former Mayor David Dinkins and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Turso’s clients have included the New York City Central Labor Council, the Police Benevolent Association, Writers Guild East and the Public Employees Federation. Dan Klores Communications has numerous clients in the entertainment industry, including SFX Entertainment, Bad Boy Entertainment, VH1 Fashion Awards, Showtime, Julia Roberts and Jay Leno.

One major focus of the Live Music campaign is to rebuild the Council of Living Music, a nonprofit entity Local 802 organized several years ago. The objective is to use this coalition to generate both membership participation and public awareness. 802 will continue to run radio and print advertisements going into next year. The Live Music/PR subcommittee also recently held a forum with representatives from different Local 802 membership committees and the Executive Board. The forum was designed to update and discuss the live music campaign with rank-and-file committees.

The Live Music/PR subcommittee is now planning the next stages of the campaign. Members who would like to participate are invited to call me at (212) 245-4802, ext. 176.