One of the greatest challenges of modern-day unions is to find creative ways to mold established collective bargaining agreement terms to serve the novel ways in which musicians work. Beyond the difficulties of organizing these work paradigms, once union recognition is secured, negotiating acceptable terms is extremely difficult. Established union provisions often are not translatable to work environments where there are multiple employers and venues. To be successful, formulation of contractual terms must be gradual and accomplished over several contractual generations. Entirely new ways to forge binding labor agreements must be developed.

The collective bargaining agreement between the Winter Jazzfest and Local 802 is just such an agreement. Voluntary union recognition was first secured roughly 16 years ago in a barebones collective bargaining agreement that only contained “suggested” wage payment minimums.

Now our latest contract — which was renegotiated only eight months after previous negotiations concluded in February 2024 — has evolved into a mature comprehensive agreement.

Musicians have won a 9 percent wage increase in the new agreement, adding to total wage gains of 24 percent over the course of both negotiations this year. They also won further enhanced working conditions, cancellation provisions, non-discrimination language and work dues. More increases are expected to follow if a multi-term contract is agreed to by the bargaining unit.

We also included a provision requiring further increases in the agreement, if additional sponsorships and revenue are obtained by the festival promoters. This provision had been eliminated in February.

Even more significantly, language was included in the new agreement that clarifies the scope of the agreement’s coverage. Last time around, there was some ambiguity as to which ensembles were covered by the agreement. This provision makes it explicit that any show listed in the festival’s promotional materials is covered by the agreement. The new language that we won is worth quoting here: “Any and all shows listed in promotional materials, including all physical and electronic/digitally transmitted materials, and listed therein as participating in the Festival shall be considered Festival Shows, and as such all compensable work performed by musicians at those shows shall be covered by the terms and conditions of this agreement, and the minimum wage scales listed herein.”

This provision effectively closes a large “donut hole” in the agreement that might have resulted in the exclusion of many shows from contractual coverage.

Musicians will soon hold a ratification vote on the agreement. In addition to all of the gains mentioned above, one final detail remains open. Up until now, the Jazz Festival Action Committee has recommended a one-year agreement so that new wage increases can be freshly negotiated every year. But a three-year proposal is also on the table. If the three-year proposal is ratified, festival musicians in ensembles consisting of seven or fewer musicians will receive a minimum wage of $300 in the third year of the agreement. That would roughly result in a further 17 percent increase in the minimum wage rate for this size ensemble, which a considerable number of festival participants receive. Ensembles with a greater number of musicians, however, would receive a lesser percentage increase.

As I had noted previously, the Winter Jazzfest negotiation presents unique conditions that made traditional bargaining unnavigable because, as a music festival, it takes place over the course of a week in multiple venues such as Nublu, Zinc Bar, Racket and the Bowery Ballroom, with a huge variety and number of bands performing in these venues. Formation of an agreement necessitated the festival presenter to agree to require each of its contractors to guarantee payment of the negotiated scales as well adherence to work conditions and terms. It was a steep hill to climb, but it was ultimately attainable.

A major factor that contributed to the success of this negotiation was the involvement of the Jazz Festival Action Committee. As usual, this was a grassroots process, spearheaded in large part by Local 802 member Marc Ribot, one of the most prominent indie musicians involved in the union.

The committee was involved in every step of this negotiation, from contractual proposal formulation to communications with the festival presenter. This agreement serves as a shining example that collective bargaining can be achievable even in non-traditional work settings and the full involvement of the musicians covered by the agreement.

MWA’S PETITION TO BAR UNLICENSED USE OF GENERATIVE A.I.

I recently signed a petition from the Music Workers Alliance. (Local 802 member Marc Ribot is a member of the MWA’s steering committee.) The petition endorses the “Ed Newton-Rex statement,” which says: “The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative A.I. is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”

Ed Newton-Rex is a former executive at Stability AI who quit in protest against A.I. companies training on creators’ work without permission. MWA, along with many other musicians and artist rights organizations, are urging all creative workers to sign the statement. (Signatures are listed publicly.)

The MWA has noted that generative A.I. companies are spending millions lobbying governments to let them train A.I. systems on our music without a license. Such unlicensed use is presumptively illegal — but these corporations believe that if they can ignore the law long enough, they’ll be economically unstoppable.

As the Local 802 officer liaison to the Local 802 A.I. committee, I believe that members can fight back against unlicensed use of their creative works for the training of generative A.I. systems by signing this statement. If a large number of musicians sign this petition, it will be impossible for A.I companies to ignore.

I respectfully ask that all members sign the petition, just as I have.

DISCOUNT CODE TO ATTEND JAZZ CONGRESS

Finally, I’m pleased to report Jazz Congress will return to Jazz at Lincoln Center on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. Once again, the conference will lead into APAP, Winter Jazzfest and the Unity Jazz Festival, all of which begin on Friday, January 10.  As one of the producers told me, “The convergence of jazz professionals and artists from all over the globe in one place at one time can reap great benefits for the future of the music.” The producers are offering a 15 percent discount to members of Local 802 to attend Jazz Congress. Click here to enroll and enter discount code JAZZC15 into the box at the upper right-hand part of the screen. Once you put the code in on the top right of the page and click through, a new ticket option will pop up below the normal registration that says “Jazz Congress 15 percent Off.” Select that registration for the discount. Local 802 Principal Business Rep Todd Weeks will present at this conference on behalf of Local 802.