Musicians have momentum! Straight on the heels of last month’s contract victory with the Argyle Theatre, a new group has chosen Local 802 to represent them, which means that even more musicians will enjoy the right to negotiate a fair contract.

On March 22, 2025, through a formal representational election conducted under the auspices of the National Labor Relations Board, the accompanists at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale voted in favor of certifying Local 802 as their certified bargaining representative. This was the first Local 802 union representation victory since the DCINY bargaining unit voted by an overwhelming majority in favor of unionization on August 16, 2019.

A majority of the accompanists said in a joint statement: “We are proud and thrilled to embark on this new kind of collaboration. Local 802 has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and we look forward to smooth negotiations. Even in small numbers, with mutual support we can achieve great things.”

There is a saying that nothing succeeds like success. This adage rings true in many contexts, especially for union organizing. One successful organizing campaign often translates to another. That held true with the country-wide effort to unionize Amazon facilities and Starbucks coffee shops. It also held true for accompanists at the Hoff-Barthelson school.

This organizing effort did not occur in a vacuum. The seed was sown many years ago when Local 802 achieved bargaining rights for the Kaufman Music Center’s accompanists. Achieving representation at the Kaufman School was extremely difficult. Management had challenged one of the accompanist’s right to vote in the representation election because they claimed she was in a position that was distinct from the other accompanists and that she did not share a community of interest with them. The regional NLRB agreed with management. The matter was litigated. After a year, the full National Labor Relations Board sided with Local 802 that this accompanist was eligible to vote. Succeeding on the appeal was critical because the election actually came down to one vote. I remember the tension was overwhelming as we walked to the NLRB to witness the challenged ballot being opened. The deciding vote was yes! Later, after many months of negotiating, the accompanists finally achieved a fair contract with significant wage and working condition improvements — a contract that continues to this day.

Fast forward to the present. As fate would have it, the same accompanist who had been the basis for our appeal in the Kaufman Center organizing election contacted Local 802 Principal Business Rep Marisa Friedman and asked if Local 802 could assist in organizing the accompanists at the Hoff-Barthelson school in Scarsdale.

Workers fight for a union for many reasons. Among the most common are better wages and benefits, job security, and common courtesy and respect. Many issues had developed a Hoff-Barthelson that led this accompanist to suggest to her colleagues that unionization was the way to go. But without the success Local 802 had with the Kaufman Center, the effort to unionize Hoff-Barthelson may not have occurred.

As Local 802 continues to organize in the present day, we find that we must educate newer musicians about the basic benefit of being able to write your own contract with the union’s help, which is the whole point of bargaining together or “collective bargaining.” On the other hand, employers try to take away the workers’ power and make them feel alienated. They’ll say things like, “Oh, you don’t need a union. Local 802 is just a ‘third party’ coming in to control your work.” Management at Hoff-Barthelson tried this old, stale technique. Of course, the antidote is to remind musicians that they themselves are the union and they have the right to decide what they want in their contract.

After management realized that musicians were serious and really wanted a union, they started asking the accompanists what improvements or changes they might want. However, we reminded the musicians that the “promises” of management are not guaranteed. The only real way they could bargain together and achieve a union contract was to actually form a union. The accompanist who spearheaded this effort knew this to be true from experience.

At this point, the accompanist’ route to a union was either an NLRB union election…or “voluntary recognition” by the employer.

Voluntary recognition would have shortened the process. Local 802 had already received union authorization cards from a majority of the accompanists. But management, assisted by an attorney from the firm Jackson Lewis (which we believe has experience in union avoidance), denied voluntary recognition and challenged Local 802’s assertion that it had majority support.

Therefore, the only way forward was a union representation election run by the NLRB. The election went off without a hitch, and a majority of workers chose Local 802.

The next step is for accompanists to negotiate a fair contract. We look forward to working with the accompanists to engage in productive and successful negotiations with the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Congratulations, accompanists! Local 802 welcomes you.

Remember, if you’re not earning the wages, benefits or respect that you deserve, contact Local 802 at www.local802afm.org/hotline. We have a great track record in helping musicians win union representation and fair contracts.