ESPINOSA ANTI-UNION ACTIVITIES/WHY WE ARE ANONYMOUS

I. HAL ESPINOSA’S ANTI-UNION ACTIVITIES AND CONNECTIONS
II. WHY THE COMMITTEE MUST REMAIN ANONYMOUS
DEAR AFM COLLEAGUES,
Have you heard of the Professional Musicians Guild (PMG)? They are a splinter group of mostly RMALA recording musicians.
Here is an excerpt from a recent Variety Article by Jon Burlingame.

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Variety Business: Musicians to tune out AFM union
Over 200 join Professional Musicians Guild
By JON BURLINGAME
L.A. musicians have placed the American Federation of Musicians on notice: Shape up or face possible decertification as their collective-bargaining agent for film and TV recordings.
More than 200 of the estimated 900 professional musicians who are most active on film-scoring dates have already joined the new Professional Musicians Guild, according to PMG president Andrew Malloy.

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AFM Delegates,

This excerpt makes the Guild’s goal perfectly clear, and in their own words. It is an attempt to bust the AFM. Also, this group is illegal, according to Article 10, Section 3 of the AFM bylaws.

One of the Officers of the PMG, namely the Secretary-Treasurer, is also the Vice President of the RMALA. The link between it and the GUILD could not be more solid.

No less solid is the link between the GUILD and LOCAL 47.

The person who is the Secretary Treasurer of the GUILD and the VP of the RMALA is also the webmaster for Local 47, webmaster of the RMA, the webmaster for Hal Espinosa, at least for his last Local 47 election this past December. This same person is also on the hearing board of Local 47. Further, and perhaps most damningly, one of the GUILD phone numbers was and may still be going to the RMA Office on the 2nd floor of our very own Local 47 building, not 40 feet from Hal Espinosa’s door!

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HAL ESPINOSA?

Plenty.

Besides the obvious links above, Mr. Espinosa has given lip service to not supporting the GUILD, in the same Variety Article and in the Local 47 paper, the Overture. But when it counted, he backed the GUILD!

At a recent conference in New England, Mr. Espinosa not only defended the GUILD, and admitted that one of its officers holds an enforcement position at the Local (The Hearing Board), but went further and said he (HAL) would take no action against any GUILD member unless forced to by the Federation.

Thus, Mr. Espinosa defended a group whose published purpose is to decertify AFM recording contracts, and continues a close personal and working relationship with one of the Guild’s officers. And now, despite his defense and support of an illegal AFM-busting organization, Mr. Espinosa asks to be president of the AFM itself!

His true loyalties are clear; to the RMALA above all. On the other hand, the attacks on Tom Lee seem to consist mostly of “failure to keep the RMA happy.” The last time we checked, the AFM president is supposed to keep us ALL happy.

Please investigate and verify the foregoing record, and cling to it when HAL’s defensive blather starts to fly. Remember, half of “Espinosa” is “spin.”

Please do not vote for HAL ESPINOSA for President.

Thank you for reading.

P.S. – We’ve just today read that the RMA-San Francisco has decided to disband. This action confirms everything we have been saying about the RMALA, the organization Hal Espinosa has given virtually free rein at Local 47.

We suggest every delegate read these letters.
You can read the letters to RMA International President Phil Ayling and the IEB here:
http://theafmobserver.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/things_fall_apa.html

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WHY THE COMMITTEE MUST REMAIN ANONYMOUS

1) It is still a great risk for our members to sign their names to letters or petitions;

2) we are all professional musicians who, due to ongoing threats of blackballing by hostile contractors, could lose a major part of our employment by voicing our opinions in public;

3) we all know colleagues who have lost work for taking a public stance on issues;

4) we work in an environment where dialogue, interaction and criticism is shunned by union officials and powerful lobby groups;

5) we have had to organize under an anonymous committee to fight for our basic democratic and union principles while we work within the system;

6) our Union officers have testified that a valued Union employee was fired partly for mere suspicion of political activity. (Those testimonies are part of the public record.)

We passionately believe that together through substantive dialogue and concerted action we will improve our profession.

It is a sad but telling fact that at this time we must be anonymous to do so.
Rest assured that there are a vast number of us – as our last Local #47 General Meeting vote tally can attest.

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47

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