I. MESSAGE FROM FMA PRESIDENT LISA HALEY\t\t4\/19\/07
\nII. JUDGES NEEDED THIS SATURDAY (TOMORROW) for PTSA
\nIII. MORE MEMBER COMMENTS<\/p>\n
Colleagues,<\/p>\n
Please make sure you tell all your fellow Local 47 members about
\nMonday\u2019s meeting. We must defeat all three Resolutions and fill
\nthe two vacant Election Board positions with members who are
\nindependent of ANY special interest group!<\/p>\n
THE COMMITTEE<\/p>\n
—————<\/p>\n
I. MESSAGE FROM FMA-L.A. PRESIDENT LISA HALEY<\/p>\n
Dear FMA Members:<\/p>\n
Please give this a quick read – this is the “Nutshell Facts” version –
\nnot “editorial.” If you only read one article about the upcoming
\nMon, April 23 ’07 Local #47 General Meeting meeting, this should
\nbe it!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After reading this, tell me: does anyone think we have an
\nincentive to get ourselves posthaste to the Mon, April 23 ’07
\nmeeting? We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it this time! We ARE
\nthe majority – but only if every one of us is there!!<\/p>\n
There will be some questions brought to light that you truly won’t
\nwant to miss \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n
Please come at 5:30pm and have a great dinner – let’s jam the
\nparking lot! I will cancel a show to be there! Anybody need a
\nride? Plane fare? Wheelchair?<\/p>\n
Please, don’t assume “someone else will go” – the difference is you.
\nFraternally,
\nLisa Haley
\nFMA-L.A.
\n======================================== <\/p>\n
1.) Here below is the text of the \u00a7XVII-4 Bylaw Amendment, passed
\nby Local #47 membership at the General Meeting on April 24, 2006
\n(Vote: Yes: 133 (2 spoiled ballots), No: 29.) I have emphasized
\nthree statements in CAPS.<\/p>\n
2.) Followed by that are the current “Resolution 2” arguments,
\ntrying to REVERSE the \u00a7XVII-4 Bylaw Amendment.
\nAs you will see, THEY ARE A TOTAL LIE.<\/p>\n
And you will understand why we ALL need to be at this meeting
\nto DEFEAT THIS \u201cRESOLUTION 2\u201d.<\/p>\n
We also need to DEFEAT RESOLUTION 1″which would raise
\nquorum to 170, so we’d never have a meeting again.) <\/p>\n
======================================== <\/p>\n
Actual \u00a7XVII-4 Bylaw Amendment text from April 24, 2006:
\n(Submitted by David Schubach, Lisa Haley, and Charles Fernandez)<\/p>\n
Section 4. Lack of Quorum:<\/p>\n
Resolved that \u00a7XVII-4 of the Bylaws be amended as follows: <\/p>\n
Lack of Quorum: If there is no quorum for the General Meeting
\nat which a Resolution to amend the Bylaws is scheduled for
\nconsideration, <\/p>\n
the presiding officer shall immediately call to order an open
\nExecutive Board meeting, <\/p>\n
with THE BOARD appointing Director(s) pro tem as needed to
\nmake a quorum. <\/p>\n
At that open meeting all members present \u2013 including all officers
\nother than the one presiding \u2013 shall have the right to debate <\/p>\n
(subject to a reasonable and uniformly enforced time limit) or to
\npresent Incidental and Privileged Motions, BUT NOT TO VOTE. <\/p>\n
After full and fair discussion of the Resolution, THE BOARD shall
\nact immediately upon the Resolution \u2013 unless the Resolution
\naffects dues (including Work Dues), fees, or assessments \u2013 with a
\ntwo-thirds vote required for enactment.<\/p>\n
======================================== <\/p>\n
2.) Below are the arguments in favor of Resolution 2. Here is why
\nthey are incorrect:
\nTheir claims first in “quotations,” followed by the actual text, and
\nmy comments IN BRACKETS []:<\/p>\n
Their claims: “…Bylaws currently give a tiny unelected group the
\nability to force changes to our Bylaws .” <\/p>\n
[The fact: the Executive Board is famous for leaving the building
\nthe second “no quorum” is declared. This Amendment gives them
\nthe incentive to stay and hear what members (some of whom
\ncame from long distances) have to say. If they don’t, the remaining
\nEB members must pick only enough members to constitute EB
\nquorum. They are under no obligation to pick hostile members.
\nThey will not want to have to pick anyone, so they will stay.<\/p>\n
Do you see anything saying that MEMBERS can vote on anything
\nat this open Board meeting? No. Only Board members. <\/p>\n
This current \u00a7XVII-4 Amendment allows us to have a voice, and
\nbe present as the Executive Board votes (instead of having to
\ndrag ourselves back to the Local on Tuesday morning when the E
\nB is in session) – so that everyone can see who votes for or
\nagainst the rank-and-file. That is its purpose.] <\/p>\n
Their claims: “… pressure for or against changes to the structure
\nand finance of our Local” The text: the Board shall act immediately
\nunless the matter affects dues (including Work Dues), fees, or
\nassessments
\n[The fact: Financial changes are specifically prohibited!]<\/p>\n
Their claims: “Executive Board must act and vote, even if the
\nmajority of the Board seats are filled by unelected appointees”
\nThe text: the Board shall act immediately upon the Resolution
\n[The fact: The Executive Board would be voting on this matter
\nanyway the next morning, at their regular EB meeting.
\nVery recently, members have come to the Tuesday meeting to be
\nheard, only to be left outside because the EB was in “closed
\nExecutive session.”
\nThe Open Meeting is only to insure that our voice is heard –
\nand that we get to see how they vote!]<\/p>\n
Conclusion:
\n– Whoever wrote Resolution 2 might have simply communicated,
\nasking for a clarification of the existing Amendment.
\nInstead, they’ve jumped to numerous false conclusions, and put
\nthis unnecessary and damaging Resolution on the agenda.<\/p>\n
– The same authors put Resolution 1 on the agenda, hoping to
\nraise Quorum to 170, insuring we’ll never have another General
\nMeeting, and the Executive Board can continue to vote as they
\nplease in favor of the agenda of one special interest group: firing
\nvaluable employees, closing services down, and making our
\nUnion unattractive to anyone but that special interest group.<\/p>\n
You be the judge.<\/p>\n
Fraternally,
\nLisa Haley
\nFMA-L.A.<\/p>\n
———–<\/p>\n
II. PTSA needs scholarship judges this Saturday<\/p>\n
From Mike Rotman The 31st District PTSA is holding scholarship auditions If interested please contact Mike Rotman immediately Thanks III. More MEMBER COMMENTS<\/p>\n Message to the Membership of Local 47<\/p>\n For the 98% us that the 2% openly refer to as HOBBYISTS and NOT This meeting is about US. Be there or be UNREPRESENTED. Don\u2019t allow The 2% are having their own issues with runaway productions. Member Local 47 (23 years)<\/p>\n ——–<\/p>\n Dear Committee, ————–<\/p>\n In response to the ‘RMA’ topic:<\/p>\n Funny and maybe a bit naive of me, but I thought all I needed to ————-<\/p>\n Dear Other Side of The Coin Guy, <\/p>\n Hi. My name is Rick Blanc. I have a name and a face. I’ve worked Your letter to the Committee contains considerable emotion., While I don’t doubt you believe what you say, I respectfully suggest Have you ever taken a course in economics? Have you read Marx? Do you really believe The Committee has the power to devalue the music I suggest there is no way to understand what is going on here Rick Blanc<\/p>\n ————-<\/p>\n Dear COMMITTEE———OK- I have really stood my ground ————-<\/p>\n GET A LIFE OR A JOB OR MOVE SOMEPLACE ELSE…..YOUR ————-<\/p>\n This is all well and good, yet not a single answer has come Dave Belknap<\/p>\n [Mr. Belknap, We recommend you send your notice to the Local ————-<\/p>\n Colleagues, <\/p>\n Please do not forget Monday\u2019s meeting, 7 pm at the Local. As UNTIL NEXT TIME,<\/p>\n THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I. MESSAGE FROM FMA PRESIDENT LISA HALEY 4\/19\/07 II. JUDGES NEEDED THIS SATURDAY (TOMORROW) for PTSA III. MORE MEMBER COMMENTS Colleagues, Please make sure you tell all your fellow Local 47 members about Monday\u2019s meeting. We must defeat all three Resolutions and fill the two vacant Election Board positions with members who are independent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-committee-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nthis Saturday at Chatsworth High School. They have set
\nof $350.00 scholarship to promising young musicians for
\nlessons. It’s a good cause, some of my students have
\nreceived the scholarship in the past.
\nThey are desperate for judges in percussion and brass.
\nThe hours are 8:30 AM til you finish, usually about noon.<\/p>\n
\nat msrotman@mindspring.com<\/p>\n
\nMike Rotman<\/p>\n
\nrelevant to be included in the “THE MUSIC BUSINESS”, this next
\nmembership meeting is not about the issue of who does what or
\nwho should be considered worthy…..HELLO!!! We are All Professional
\nMusicians. The 2% have thrown down the gauntlet, called out
\nthe troops, and made this meeting about entirely eliminating the
\ninput of the 98% and there is a good chance it will happen if WE
\ndon’t show up. <\/p>\n
\nthe manipulated leadership to get away with diminishing and
\neliminating the services we pay for! Some of us have not availed
\nourselves of these services- recording studio, referral service, CD
\nsales,etc.- but that does not mean that we should not fight for
\nthem. These services are a resource that brings our employers
\nand public to us and promotes our contribution.<\/p>\n
\nDon’t allow the minority (however big dollar) to take your
\nrepresentation away. If you do, you can stand on the street with
\nyour case open and collect quarters.<\/p>\n
\nThe blame game currently being played out amongst musicians is
\nlike survivors of a storm at sea fighting for a place on a sinking
\nlife-raft after the ship has already gone down. The fact is that we
\nare experiencing a sea-change in the way music is produced,
\npromoted and marketed. Those musicians will survive who can
\nadapt successfully to the new electronic media. Those who don’t,
\nwon’t or can’t will go the way of the buffalo. There is one thing
\nthat remains constant, and that is that people still love music
\nand will continue to make it an integral part of their lives. How
\nwe are able to approach our audiences through new media will
\ndetermine the future success or failure of the union and its
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
\ndo to be eligible for the ‘good’ recording work was to join the
\n‘AFM’. Now I realize, albeit a little late, that I should have joined
\na different organization, the ‘RMA’. Now I wonder why, if the AFM
\nis supposed to represent all of its members equally, that we need
\nanother organization as a subset of the first?<\/p>\n
\nall over Europe and the United States. I know how the business
\nworks. I also understand a lot about history, politics, law, unions,
\ncorruption and economics (not to mention punctuation and form in writing). <\/p>\n
\nand I don’t question your motivation. I do have to question your
\nconclusions which are naive, in my opinion You sound like a
\nyounger person still “illusioned” in many ways. That is not a bad
\nthing; time has a way of adjusting thinking to make it more
\nconsistent with reality–if you are smart. <\/p>\n
\nthat you are misguided–unless you are a Marxist, in which case
\nyou make a more theological argument. The United States has
\nchosen a republican form of government and entrepreneurial
\ncapitalism–which inures to the benefit of the consumer–even
\nwhile allowing unions and other institutions to interfere, within
\nlegal parameters, in the marketplace. <\/p>\n
\nHave you read the U.S. Constitution? Do you know anything about
\ninstitutional corruption, tyranny, history? Do you believe that as
\nan American citizen you enjoy certain freedoms, e.g. to enter into
\ncontracts of your choosing? <\/p>\n
\n business? <\/p>\n
\nwithout some cursory knowledge of some of the things I’ve
\nmentioned, and I would put my knowledge on these subjects up
\nagainst yours any day. Not that I’m an expert, but over the years
\nI’ve learned both the easy way and the hard way, and I did my
\nhomework. <\/p>\n
\nwith keeping an open mind about these newsletters- and
\nadvocating your openess to challenge the “status quo”, but why
\non earth is ONE\/ or a small group of men\/women calling
\nhimself\/herself a committee, and attack ANY of his\/her
\ncolleagues? (especially ones whom you have no working
\nrelationship with.) I do hope you\/he\/she receives enough
\nattention for his\/her misguided adventures. Geeeeeeeeeeesh.
\nThe best way to success is HARD WORK, TENACITY, and RESPECT,
\nalong with patience, humility, and kindness for ALL of your
\nbrothers and sisters, no matter what their beliefs are. Within the
\nlands of freedom of speech—–I support your freedom to say
\nanything you like, but, please- try to get to know the people you
\nare lashing out at- they might actually be some of your FEW
\nsupporters, for what it is worth. I moved here to Los Angeles with
\nNO connections, only dreams. I still have them. One dream
\nincludes becoming a better musician, and human being everyday.
\nI humbly suggest that all of the other minutia of life pales in
\ncomparision……….. and probably not one of those elite people
\nyou attack, but many of them are my friends- and there ARE
\nmany humanitarian, and just people among them- whom happen
\nto play MUSIC very well. It is not out of line to challenge, and
\ndebate. I am a strong advocate for thought- but let’s work
\nTOGETHER- united- and create opportunites for better music in
\nthis city……………….NOT ANGUISH. Do you really find that
\ndrawing your conclusions are doing good for ALL, or only
\nyourselve(s).? Good evening to you! It is far better to work with,
\nrather than AGAINST your fellow musicians- ALL OF THEM, even
\nif you or I don’t work with each other on a given daily basis. I
\nhave no time to smear and slander my fellow musicians. Anyone
\nwith whom I communicate\/ perform with regularly, seems to
\nfollow similar beliefs. If you took the time to get to know many
\nof the other performers\/writers\/ production team specialists in
\ntown, I am sure you would make friends among them. Just try it-
\nyou might be in for a PLEASANT surprise. Please- consider
\nposting my response, and feel free to attach my name to the
\ncomments I have made to you (and perhaps consider the higher
\nroad.) Instead of attacks, maybe it would be better to voice your
\nitems of agenda, how your innovative ideas will broaden the
\nworkforce, and create a stronger sense of unity, NOT DIVISION.
\nTHANK YOU. <\/p>\n
\nCOMMENTS ARE RIDICULOUS NO WONDER YOU ARE NOT BUSY!!!!<\/p>\n
\nregarding my complaint concerning AFof M, Local #47 members
\nacting as contractors and regularly employing NON-UNION
\nMUSICIANS in the Palm Springs, CA area. Come on boys. Let’s
\naddress a problem other than the RMA for a change.<\/p>\n
\n47 officers. They certainly see these mailings, but more direct
\ncontact might getting a quicker response. You can reach the
\nexecutive officers at: pres@promusic47.org, vp@promusic47.org,
\nsecretary@promusic47.org.]<\/p>\n
\nmuch as it pains us to say it, Monday\u2019s meeting has comes down
\nto elements of the RMALA elite and elements of the Espinosa
\nadministration against the rest of the membership. A 100
\nmember quorum led to over two years of no meetings. A
\nquorum of 170 might shut down the members voice for good. A
\nvoice is easy to lose, but hard to get back.<\/p>\n