Allegro
Currently Browsing: March, 2000
Musicians Ratify Agreement With Broadway TV Network
After several years of on-again, off-again discussions with the Broadway Television Network (BTN), New York theatre musicians have reluctantly approved an agreement for the pay-per-view television presentation of Broadway shows. In voting on Jan. 26 and 27, a tentative pact
802 Shifts Focus of Campaign to NYC Swing
Upholding Area Standards
On a chilly Friday evening recently, a dozen 802 organizers, members and volunteers buttonholed New York hipsters on their way into Le Bar Bat, a trendy midtown meeting place where young professionals network. “Have you heard about New York City
New School Guitar Study Instructors Ratify First Contract
After ten months of roller-coaster negotiating, instructors at the New School’s Guitar Study Center unanimously ratified their first contract early in February. This brings the number of instructors working under a union agreement at the New School to more than
Local 802 Settles Grievance With Queens Symphony Orchestra
Late last spring, the Concert Department received a number of calls from musicians who had performed education engagements for the Queens Symphony Orchestra but had not been paid. The conversations indicated that the work had been done “off the books”
Local 802 Expands Use of MEMO Program
Twenty-five union members braved cold and rain on Jan. 20 to take part in MEMO – Membership Education and Mobilizing for Organizing – a four-hour seminar devoted to discussing ways to increase the union’s power. The MEMO program, which was
Broadway and Television: Weighing the Risks
President's Report
As is reported elsewhere in this issue, Broadway musicians recently ratified the new agreement between Local 802 and the Broadway Television Network (BTN) by a two-to-one margin. The aspect of this activity (pay-per-view telecasts of live shows and the subsequent
The Musicians’ Voice
802 MUSICIANS WERE A DREAM TO WORK WITH To the Editor: On Saturday, Jan. 15, I sang at Carnegie Hall, the greatest dream of my life. My show – Raquel Bitton Sings Edith Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs played to
How I Got Vested
Viewpoints
Last fall, the mysterious document arrived in the mail. It was the 1998 Annual Covered Earnings Report, issued by the AFM and Employers’ Pension Fund. If, dear reader, you are anything like me, and your eyes glaze over when you
A Bronx Tune
Viewpoints
At a point in my life when most of my friends are buying golf clubs and starting to plan their retirement, I decided to go back to college and finish my studies for a degree in music. A lot of
Missed Opportunities: A Critical View of Gov. Pataki’s Executive Budget
Guest Commentary
Budgeting is a topic that causes many people to tune out, convinced that only a policy expert can grapple with the mass of statistics involved. Yet the state budget is the most basic tool for implementing government policies and priorities,
Legislative Update
MEDICARE ‘REFORM’ BILL A SCAM S-1895, the Breaux-Thomas Bill, is designed to dismantle Medicare under the guise of “saving” it. This dangerous Senate bill is expected to go to hearings very shortly. Our present Medicare program provides health care to
Allegro Interviews Gayle Dixon
One reason that New York City is home to so many extraordinary musicians is the fact that generations of students once received an excellent musical foundation in the city’s public schools. At P.S. 77 in the Bronx, the elementary school
Women’s Alcohol and Drug Use
Musicians' Assistance Program
Women in the entertainment industry face special problems in relation to drug and alcohol abuse. You may find you are using substances to curb your performance anxiety or to feel more outgoing. Alcohol may seem to raise your self-esteem, alleviate
Executive Board Minutes
January 4, 2000 -- January 18, 2000
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2000 Meeting called to order at 11:35 a.m. Present: President Moriarity, Recording Vice-President Price, Financial Vice-President Landolfi, Executive Board members Crow, Gale, Giannini, Hafemeister, Rosen and Shankin, Assistant to the President Dennison. President Moriarity advised the board
Bill Crow’s Band Room
Retired recording producer George Avakian should be writing a book of memoirs of his remarkable career. Here’s a story he sent me: As a high school student in New York City, George was a young pianist and a jazz fan.