HACKING ATTEMPT / KARMA INDEED / MPS – BENEFIT CUTS / MPS MEETING / EVENTS

3/2/18

I. A HACKING THEY WILL TRY
II. KARMA INDEED – MEMBER COMMENTS
III. POTENTIAL BENEFIT CUTS – MPS
IV.NATIONWIDE MPS MEETING
V. EVENTS

…Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer

…The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’
scoring musician
…Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal – L.A. Symphonic musician

…Reporting issues the Musicians Union doesn’t dare to mention – National touring musician

 

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I. A-HACKING THEY WILL TRY

No sooner had the last blog gone out, than
someone who didn’t like it, you can guess
what group they are from, tried to change
the password of responsible 47.com. They
did not succeed however.

WhatEVER are they afraid of? Here’s an idea:
Change your conduct and you won’t have to
worry about whatever info gets out.

 

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II. KARMA INDEED! – MEMBER COMMENTS

[EC: Since we have now gotten three separate,

reliable sources for this story, we feel confident

in naming names.]

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Member Comment:

The name of the RMA official that
sued was Sazer.

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AFM goes to bat for Sazer….and only Sazer.

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Member Comment:

[This comment was edited to remove anything that could be
construed as an attack on someone’s ability or musicality. We
only want to report the facts.]

Please post this.
Who will sue the Federation? How dare they
give someone tenure, especially for political
reasons. I know Sazer is turning in people.
Good people. [EC: This is common knowledge.]
People on the fringe that need
to make money doing projects that are
impossible to go union!

Really! Someone start a lawsuit against
the Federation! Guaranteed work?

How dare the Union do this for one and
nobody else. You turn in players and
contractors and we will guarantee you work.

Gina Zimmitti refused to sign this. Did others?

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DEMAND LETTER SENT TO GINA ZIMMITTI
This is a public record.

[EC: We contacted the member who sent this to us asking
for verification of it’s origin. This is the reply we got:

To the Committee: “this document was made public
to me and my use of it was approved by a party
that had permission to circulate. Not stolen or
lifted.

Further, here is a link to the NLRB page of this matter:
https://www.nlrb.gov/case/31-CA-179630]

——–

The American Federation of Musicians (“AFM”) and Gina
Zimmitti Music Contracting (“GZMC), agree to resolve
a charge made by the AFM to the National Labor Relations
Board (“NLRB”) on July 1, 2015, (Case No. 31-CA-179630)
regarding Marc Sazer (“Sazer”) as follows:

1. Music scoring work is intermittent. With that reality,
it is the intent of the AFM and GZMC to return Sazer’s
employment on music scoring projects contracted by GZMC
to the level that existed before 2015 (approximately
85% of days contracted by GZMC on major motion picture
projects and about 65% of days contracted by it on
all projects.

2. To achieve that, from the date this Agreement is
executed, GZMC will cause Sazer to be hired for music
scoring projects it contracts with the same frequency
as it caused him to be hired prior to 2015. Specifically,
GZMC will cause Sazer to be hired on substantially
all music music scoring projects requiring a string
section and an orchestra of 30 or more musicians,
in addition to some music scoring projects requiring
fewer than 30 musicians (as it did prior to 2015).

3. As soon as practicable, but in no event later than
14 days of the execution of this Agreement, the AFM
will withdraw the charge in Case No. 31-CA-179630.
But the AFM can reinstate the charge, or file a new
NLRB charge, in the event it determines that GZMC
has failed to comply with the obligations of
Paragraph 2.

4. By entering into this Agreement, GZMC admits no
liability or fault and specifically does not admit
that it engaged in the conduct described in the
charge. Similarly, the AFM reserves its position
that GZMC engaged in the conduct alleged in the
charge.

5. GZMC and the AFM agree that the terms of this
Agreement shall remain strictly confidential, except
that they also agree that they may be disclosed to
Sazer, and may be disclosed to others for the limited
purpose of carrying out the parties’ rights and
obligations under this Agreement.

[Colleagues, you can see the case page for the above at
https://www.nlrb.gov/case/31-CA-179630] So for anyone
not believing in the gross level of control the RMA
continues to have over the AFM, this should be all the
proof you need.

Only someone high up in in the RMA could get the
AFM/IEB to write a letter trying to force a contractor
to use a player they no longer wanted to use.
It’s freelancing, unless you’re an RMA officer,
in which case they MUST be used, right?

As was told to us. Ms Zimmitti refused to sign it
(just as she should have).

NOT WHO YOU THINK

[EC: ••••• In fairness, the section in the last blog post titled:
THE INNER CIRCLE SPEAKS: THERE’S ALWAYS
ANOTHER is NOT in fact about Marc Sazer, but
another current RMA board member If we can get one

more source (We have two), we can name that RMA Board

member as well..•••••

 

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III. POTENTIAL BENEFIT CUTS – MPS

DOCUMENTS SHOW TRUSTEES KNOW MORE
THAN THEY REVEAL ABOUT POTENTIAL FOR BENEFIT CUTS

AFM President Ray Hair hosted a “Webinar” for
pension plan participants on January 29. When
asked, President Hair and the other participants
would not shed any light on the extent of the
possible benefit cuts: “At this time, we just don’t
know,” they said. Hair and the other trustees may
not know exactly how extensive or when the cuts
will happen, but according to their own documents
recently obtained by MPS (linked below), it seems
that they know far more about the potential for
benefit cuts then they let on. Here is a summary:

1. The trustees began actively considering cutting
our pensions beginning at their August 4, 2015
meeting, targeting 25-30% cuts beginning in
February 2016. (Supporting docs here)

2. It took Ray Hair and our other trustees a year
and a half after that August 2015 meeting before
they snuck the bad news of potential cuts to
existing benefits into a letter to plan participants
in December of 2016. (Read it here)

3. It is true that the trustees have not formally
decided to make the cuts yet. That decision
will be made in June of this year. However,
the trustees’ last “Base Case” (what they
expect to happen) projection from just two
months ago, dated December 18, 2017,
calls for cuts in 2018 (Projections here).

4. The prospect of cuts to our existing benefits
is so real that the AFM fund’s actuary, Milliman,
is already engaged in discussions with the key
members of the US Treasury, which will be
making the decision whether or not to approve
the cuts. In those discussions, Treasury gave
“informal nonbinding guidance” on how best to
fashion the cut application. These discussions
were initiated on November 1, 2017. (See here.)

The AFM-EPF trustees have repeatedly pledged
to be transparent with us and yet none of the
above information was discussed or revealed
in January when the trustees were asked about it.

Keep in mind, the AFM-EPF webinar in late January
was just six weeks after the trustees were discussing
benefit cuts at their December 18, 2017 meetings.
When asked about cuts AFM President Ray Hair
only said, “At this time, we just don’t know,” but
according to their own documents, he and the
other trustees have a very good idea.

In solidarity,

Musicians for Pension Security

Stay informed with MPS. Join our mailing list here.

Who is MPS? Click HERE.

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IV.NATIONWIDE MPS MEETING

March 21, 2018 at 5pm
New York City (venue TBA)
LIVE STREAMING ON FACEBOOK

BREAKING AFM PENSION NEWS!
•    Musicians for Pension Security recently obtained the
AFM-EPF trustees’ own documents made public by law.
(read them here) These documents reveal that the
pension trustees have been planning cuts to our pension
benefits going all the way back to August of 2015.
According to those documents the trustees are targeting
a 25-30% cut to existing benefits. MPS now believes
the trustees could set an MPRA application into motion
as early as June 2018, which starts the process that
allows the trustees to cut our benefits.

•    MPS hired Tom Lowman, a nationally recognized
pension actuary, to review the situation. At the March
21 meeting, Tom will show how our trustees are
proceeding upon assumptions that we would like
to change and will explain why. He will present a
plan to stabilize our pension in the near term and
he will recommend measures to assure the long-
term stability of the plan.

•    Tom Lowman thinks that delaying cuts and
working on improving the funding is the way
to go. Cutting now may result in larger cuts
than needed and cutting now while hoping
to restore some of those cuts later would
be difficult. He will explain why at the March
21 meeting.

•    At the meeting you will also hear from
Jonathan Kantor, our legal counsel, who
will explain the process that our trustees
are following to obtain the cuts, together
with legal options that they — and we — have.

It is critical that all AFM members make
every effort to attend this meeting. For
those across the country who can’t be there,
the meeting will be streamed via Facebook
LIVE on the MPS Facebook page.

Your attendance at the MPS National meeting
will help to give you a better understanding of
what is happening to our pension and the
solutions we think will make a difference.

Please click here to RSVP to the March 21st meeting.
Who is MPS? Click HERE.

What is MPRA? Click HERE.

In solidarity,
Musicians for Pension Security

Stay informed with MPS. Join our mailing list here.

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V. EVENTS
DEAN AND RICHARD
are now at Culver City Elks the first 
Friday of 
every month.
7:30pm-10:30pm,
11160 Washington Pl.
Culver City, 90232
310-839-8891

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3/3/18

Westlake Valley Symphony presents
SYMPHONY IN BRASS
music by Ewazen, Strauss and Bruckner
Paul Piazza, Music Director

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 – 7:30 PM
Westminster Presbyterian Church
32111 Watergate Rd.
Westlake Village, CA 91361

Admission is Free!
RSVP by emailing
[email protected]

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3/5/18

MALIBU  FRIENDS  OF  MUSIC
p r e s e n t
A Concert Dressed in
St. Patrick’s Day Green

Monday, March 5th, 2018 at 7:30 pm
MAHMA Great Room

Featuring the
Malibu Coast String Quartet
Maria Newman & Rafael Rishik, violinists
Scott Hosfeld, violist
Paula Hochhalter, cellist

Performing Music of  ~
Alexander Borodin ~ String Quartet No. 1
Gustav Holst ~ “Thatxed” for String Quartet
W.A. Mozart ~ Divertimento
Maria Newman/Mary Pickford ~ “What the Daisy Said”
1912 Silent Film Short accompanied by live string quartet

Click here for reservations
www.malibufriendsofmusic.org
Or call (310) 589-0295

…for a taste of MAHMA:
Take a listen to Maria Newman’s,  “Pied Piper’s Lament”
Performed by MAHMA artists at the Warner Grand Theatre

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3/7/18

ELVIS SCHOENBERG’S ORCHESTRE SURREAL

Wednesday, March 7th, 8PM
El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
For tickets call: 818 508-4200
or 866 811 4111

Theatrical in a deranged-circus-Fellini-
German expressionistic-John Waters-burlesque
sort of way, the Orchestra Surreal is as Cinematic
as they come for the symphonic world.

http://theorchestresurreal.com/HELLO.htm

Nessun Dorma
https://tinyurl.com/y9rnqa9f

3 minute El Portal promo
https://tinyurl.com/y8xxm5aa

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3/8/18

ASMAC Presents
the next First Wednesday’s,… ON THURSDAY!!!!
Yes, Thursday!

Scott Bradlee, founder or
POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

Thursday March 8th, 2017, 7:30 PM

Valley College Music Building, room 106 (recital Hall)
Scott Bradlee – arranger, pianist, author, and
founder of international sensation Postmodern Jukebox
will share his no budget to international success story
which has garnered nearly One Billion YouTube
channel hits and Sold Out live shows in more than 60
countries around the world. Find out about Scott’s
Postmodern Jukebox arranging and song production
process from inspiration to final cut video as well as
details about his new book:
Outside the Jukebox:

How I Turned My Vintage Music Obsession into My Dream Gig

Imagine marrying the 21st century party vibe of Miley
Cyrus or the minimalist angst of Radiohead with the
crackly warmth of a vintage 78 or the plunger-muted
barrelhouse howl of a forgotten Kansas City jazzman.
Bradlee’s choice of material ranges from the ‘80s hard
rock of Guns N’ Roses to hits as recent as 2015’s
Justin Bieber plea “Sorry.” They’re rendered by a
rotating cast of musicians and singers in fashions
that date back to a time when Axl, Slash and Bieber’s
parents had yet to be born – a time of street corner
harmonies and torch singers, blues belters and
golden-voiced crooners.
All About That Bass
http://www.viduba.com/video:QVlVIZFSWdnVrFDUSxmWpVmVVpXWR1TP
Don’t stop believing’
https://tinyurl.com/ycxzw77b

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3/7/18

NACUSA concert

Three’s Company featuring Trio Accento,
with
Limor-Toren-Immerman, violin;
Maksim Velichkin, cello and
Nora Chiang Wrobel, piano,

at Mimoda Studio,
5774 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019.

Admission is free.

Works include:
Gernot Wolfgang: Jazz and Cocktails
Kenneth Froelich: Polarize
Russell Steinberg:  Paleface
Deon Nielsen Price: Angel Trio
Richard Derby: Introspection
William Toutant: Homage a Debussy.

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4/11/18

Coming to Vibrato April 11th @ 7:30pm
The Fabulous Grammy Nominated
PHIL NORMAN TENTET
reminiscent of the refreshing sounds of
West Coast Jazz.x
Los Angeles, CA.90077
Resevations call 310-474-9400

Click here to visit Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill Jazz

PLAYING THE MUSIC OF
Rogers & Hart, George Shearing, Benny Goodman,
Hank Mancini, Debussy, Joseph Kosma, Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Forrest, Stanley Turrentine
Bob Nolan and others.

 

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The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute

is now accepting applications for the one-year

Master of Music in Film Composition

One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!

Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film scoring education by Music School Central.

“in just one year, the school places students into a pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a professional demo reel that can be used to obtain future paid commercial opportunities.”

 

Learn from Industry Professionals

All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and engineers, including the program’s creator and lead instructor Dr. Hummie Mann.  Hummie is the two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in Variety Magazine’s article “Leaders in Learning”.

Our Program Features:
• 9 live recording sessions with professional musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio.
• Opportunities to work with student directors to score actual films from film programs all over the world.
• 
Training in all major software programs used in the industry.
• 
A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to each student fully installed with the latest versions of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.

 

Accelerated and Affordable

We are a one-year Master of Music in Film Composition program which not only gives our graduates the opportunity to enter the industry and start their careers a year sooner than other programs but saves them an entire year of living expenses. In addition to our accelerated format we also offer the most affordable tuition out of competing programs. Our students have access to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and scholarships as well.

 

History of Success

We are very proud to have a high success rate for our graduates who have gone on to work on television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft, Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant, Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Apply now and you could be joining their ranks!

Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018 school year.
We offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.

 

 

(800) 882-4734 | www.pnwfilmmusic.com
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UNTIL NEXT TIME,

THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47

One Response to “HACKING ATTEMPT / KARMA INDEED / MPS – BENEFIT CUTS / MPS MEETING / EVENTS”

  1. anonimoso says:

    “another current RMA board member”……could it be Brownstain Dress ?

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