{"id":851,"date":"2020-01-08T15:29:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T22:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/?p=851"},"modified":"2020-01-08T15:29:41","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T22:29:41","slug":"ab5-reduced-benefits-streaming-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/?p=851","title":{"rendered":"AB5 \/ REDUCED BENEFITS \/ STREAMING \/ COMMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>AB5 UPDATE, LOCAL 47<\/li><li>MUSICIANS\u2019 UNION TO TREASURY: LET US REDUCE BENEFITS IN 2021.<\/li><li>UNION FAILS TO WIN STREAMING RESIDUALS <\/li><li>MEMBER COMMENT<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;Absolutely\nguaranteed anonymity &#8211; Former Musician&#8217;s Union officer\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;The one voice\nof reason in a sea of insanity &#8211; Nashville &#8216;first call&#8217;\u2028scoring musician<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;Allows us to\nspeak our minds without fear of reprisal &#8211; L.A. Symphonic musician<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;Reporting\nissues the Musicians Union doesn&#8217;t dare to mention &#8211; National touring musician\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Editor\u2019s Comment: As anyone who\u2019s followed the AB5 story knows by now,\nThe AFM and Local 47 made no request to exempt freelance musicians from AB5. In\nfact, they support it. Word is they support it because they think it\u2019ll force\nthose who\u2019ve gone Fi-Core or are non-union to re-join or join the AFM. That\u2019s\nnot going to happen, and as you will read below, the AFM and Local\u2019s conduct is\ncoming home to roost in a big way, affecting us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>READ ON\u2026\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>====================================================<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>AB5\nUpdate LOCAL 47<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/eerieacousticsoundthoughts.wordpress.com\/2019\/12\/31\/ab5-update\/\"><em>Originally posted December 31, 2019<\/em><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/eerieacousticsoundthoughts.wordpress.com\/author\/johncoz2022\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>\nby AFM Local 47 President John Acosta [johncoz2022]:<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of you may now have heard of\nCalifornia legislation AB5 which was created to ensure that most workers in\nCalifornia are classified as employees, not independent contractors. Introduced\nby California Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, AB5 was created to incorporate\nthe Dynamex ruling, which was a California Supreme Court decision from last\nyear, into state law. That decision limited an employer\u2019s ability to classify\ncertain types of workers as independent contractors. Some members have asked if\nthis new law will negatively impact the practice of using loan out companies as\na way of ensuring fair tax treatment for our members. It is our view that AB5\nwill have no impact on the use of loan outs. AFM Local 47 along with DGA, WGA,\nIATSE and SAG-AFTRA have done exhaustive due diligence with counsel to come to\nthis conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another hot topic with AB5 is the\nso-called \u201cend of the music business as we know it\u201d tagline that some\norganizations are touting. Nothing could be farther from the truth! While AFM\nagreements clearly establish that musicians are employees and not independent\ncontractors, there were many instances where employers attempted to misclassify\nmusicians. Leading up to the bill\u2019s adoption we worked closely with SAG-AFTRA\nto ensure that musicians and singers were properly covered under this new\nlegislation. With the backing of the California Labor Federation, our\nSecretary\/Treasurer Gary Lasley along with AFM reps all over California reached\nout to elected officials to seek continued support for this important\nlegislation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are current talks underway with\nthe California legislature and employer partners to clarify AB 5\u2019s impact where\nnecessary, but AFM Local 47 will always do what is in the best interest of its\nmembers first and foremost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether it is a community orchestra,\nsmall theater, or a live performance, California law requires employers who\nhire musicians for performances, which meet the AB5 threshold, to pay the\nappropriate taxes and make the necessary withholdings. This way, musicians can\napply for disability, unemployment, Social Security or workers\u2019 comp when\nnecessary and applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/category\/news\/\">All News<\/a>,\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/category\/news\/legislative-news\/\">Legislative\nNews<\/a> (Deadline.com) and tagged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/tag\/ab-5\/\">AB 5<\/a>,\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/tag\/ab5\/\">AB5<\/a>\non <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/ab5-update\/\">January\n2, 2020<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><em>Comment on the\n     site for this story:<\/em><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/ab5-update\/#comment-3059\">January\n4, 2020 at 10:12 am<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horrible\nstupid bill and shame on the \u201cunion\u201d for backing it!!!! The union represents less\nthan 5% of the music industry but they don\u2019t give a crap about anyone else. I\u2019m\ngoing to-core<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Additional Local 47 member comment:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Really?&nbsp;&nbsp;Someone who has been a desk jockey for nearly\ntwo decades has the balls to tell the rank-and-file the Union is working for\nus?!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>==========================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Musicians Union\u2019s Pension Plan Asks Treasury Department For Permission To Reduce Benefits In\u00a02021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By David Robb (Deadline.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/author\/david-robb-special-to-deadline\/\"><strong>VIEW\nALL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>January 7, 2020 9:00am<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trustees of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/american-federation-of-musicians\/\">American Federation of\nMusicians<\/a>\u2019\ntroubled Pension Plan have asked the U.S. Treasury Department for permission to\nreduce thousands of musicians\u2019 monthly pension benefits in order to keep the\n\u201ccritical and declining\u201d Fund from becoming insolvent within the next 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Plan is in trouble because as of March, its $3 billion in\nliabilities exceeded its $1.8 billion in assets, meaning that the Plan is\nunderfunded by about $1.2 billion. Ironically, many musicians facing pension\ncuts were once employed on films executive produced by Treasury Secretary\nSteven Mnuchin, who was a prolific movie producer and investor before&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2016\/11\/donald-trump-steven-mnuchin-treasury-secretary-1201861612\/\">joining President Donald\nTrump\u2019s Cabinet<\/a>&nbsp;in\nFebruary 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See the\ntrustees\u2019 FAQ&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/afm-epf.org\/StayInformed\/FundStatusFAQs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. Department of the\nTreasury<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ntrusties, who determined that the Plan had entered \u201ccritical and declining\nstatus\u201d last April, told their participants today that \u201cThis means that the\nPlan is projected to run out of money to pay benefits \u2013 or become \u2018insolvent\u2019 \u2013\nwithin 20 years under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA), a law\nenacted in December 2014. Under MPRA, if a fund enters critical and declining\nstatus, the trustees can apply to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for\napproval to reduce participants\u2019 benefits by an amount sufficient to avoid\ninsolvency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlthough reducing earned benefits will be painful, the trustees\nhave submitted an application to do so because the alternative of running out\nof money would leave participants with a much greater benefit reduction in the\nfuture. The trustees have no other viable way to save the Plan for the long\nterm \u2013 that is to say, realistic investment returns and contribution increases\nwill not avoid insolvency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the trustees, nearly half the Plan\u2019s 50,782\nparticipants are expected to see some reduction of benefits beginning early\nnext year, and some will be harder hit than others. Pensioners who are 80 years\nold and older, for instance, won\u2019t see their pensions reduced at all, nor will\nthose who receive disability pensions. Those who receive relatively small\npensions won\u2019t be affected either, or will be affected the least. The\nreductions will fall mostly on younger retirees \u2013 current and future \u2013 and on\nthose who receive the largest pensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trustees estimate that 22,753 participants (44.8%) are\nexpected to see reductions of 20% or less, with 930 (1.8%) seeing reductions of\n20-40%. They estimate that 27,099 participants (53.4%) won\u2019t see any reductions\nat all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If approved by Treasury and by the participants, the benefit\nreductions, which will kick on Jan. 1, 2021, will affect a broad mix of\nmusicians who work or have worked in the film and television industry under the\nunion\u2019s contract with management\u2019s AMPTP; on sound recordings; at symphonies\nand operas; on Broadway, and in regional and traveling musical productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2019\/05\/afm-members-painful-pension-cuts-benefit-fund-solvent-1202622363\/\">20,000 Musicians To Receive\n\u201cPainful\u201d Pension Cuts To Keep Benefit Fund Solvent<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision to apply to the Treasury Dept. for benefit reductions\n\u201cwas painful, but it is essential that we do everything possible to put the\nPlan on stronger financial footing,\u201d the trustees told participants today in\npersonalized statements telling each participant how much, if any, their\nbenefits will need to be reduced to keep the Plan solvent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDoing nothing also results in benefit reductions,\u201d they said. \u201cThis\nisn\u2019t a choice between reducing benefits and not reducing benefits. It is a\nchoice between reducing benefits now, or reducing benefits later, but to a\ngreater extent. No one wants to reduce benefits. But, if we don\u2019t reduce\nbenefits now, at some point in the future, the Plan won\u2019t have enough money to\npay benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which was created\nby an act of Congress in 1974, is supposed to protect multiemployer pension\nfunds like the AFM\u2019s, but facing a record-breaking deficit of more than $65\nbillion itself, has said that it could run out of money by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe PBGC\u2019s multiemployer program is projected to become\ninsolvent by 2025,\u201d the trustees noted. \u201cIf that happens, then there will be\nlittle to no PBGC guarantee to fall back on. In this scenario, if the Plan\nbecame insolvent, then participants\u2019 benefits would be reduced dramatically.\nThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for us to ensure that the Plan avoids insolvency.\nWhile there is no doubt that benefit reductions for participants will be\ndifficult, they cannot be worse than the catastrophic reductions that would\ntake place for participants if the Plan and the PBGC both ran out of money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even though the PBGC\u2019s own financial problems make it an\nunreliable guarantor \u2013 with more than 100 multiemployer pension plans across\nthe country currently facing insolvency \u2013 they\u2019re required to pay into it,\nregardless of their funding status. For 2020, multiemployer plan have to pay\n$30 to the PBGC per plan participant \u2013 nearly quadrupling from $8 per plan\nparticipant in 2007. For the AFM Plan, that means that its required PBGC\npremiums increased from approximately $400,000 a year in 2007 to $1,450,000\nlast year \u201cdue to the enormous increases in the per-participant annual premium,\u201d\nthe trustees said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2019\/11\/musicians-union-failed-to-win-streaming-residuals-main-goal-in-contract-negotiations-1202795936\/\">Musicians Union Failed To Win\nStreaming Residuals \u2013 Its Main Goal In Film &amp;amp; TV Contract Negotiations<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome legislative proposals in Congress have included significant\nincreases to PBGC premiums, including a November 2019 proposal by Senators\nCharles Grassley and Lamar Alexander,\u201d the trustees said. \u201cIf passed, such\nincreases would drain the assets of troubled plans like the AFM Plan even\nfaster, thereby hastening possible insolvency. The trustees oppose these\nincreases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have a real opportunity to save the Plan,\u201d the trustees said.\n\u201cThere are a number of other financially troubled plans that are too far gone\nto even apply\u201d to the Treasury Dept. for benefit reductions. \u201cWe believe that\nour proposed reduction will reposition the Plan to be around to pay benefits to\ncurrent and future retirees for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that will require the Plan\u2019s participants to approve the\nreductions if Treasury gives the okay. And if everything goes according to\nplan, Treasury will post the AFM\u2019s application on its website on Jan. 29, and\nwill have completed its review of the application by Aug. 11, approving or\ndenying it. If the application is approved, the Treasury Dept. will mail\nballots to all participants and beneficiaries of deceased participants within\n30 days of approval. Voters will then have at least three weeks to cast\nballots, with those who don\u2019t vote being counted as \u201cyes\u201d votes to reduce\nbenefits. Treasury must then announce the outcome of the vote within seven days\nof the voting deadline, and for a plan of benefit reductions to be voted down,\na majority of eligible voters must vote against it, meaning that a low-voter\nturnout will guarantee approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also possible that Treasury will identify changes that need\nto be made in the application before it can be approved. In that case, the Plan\nmay withdraw the application and resubmit it, which would restart the timeline.\nThis has occurred for many other pension funds that ultimately have had their\napplications approved. \u201cTo reduce the likelihood of this scenario,\u201d the\ntrustees said, \u201cwe have had numerous communications with Treasury about its expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNobody wants to see benefits reduced,\u201d the trustees stressed.\n\u201cBut unless Congress steps in with a legislative solution, something it has so\nfar refused to do, the options boil down to reduced benefits now or running out\nof money and having a much higher reduction in benefits later. We understand\nthat participants don\u2019t want to hear that we need to take away a portion of the\npension they have been relying on, but that\u2019s the awful choice we face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COMMENT ATTACHED TO THE ARTICLE<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGood morning, thanks for calling the AF of M\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah hi, this is runaway scoring calling. I\u2019m here in Seattle,\ntomorrow I\u2019ll be in London at Abbey Road with all your musicians. We\u2019re scoring\nall your films non union now. I think you might have a long term problem coming\non your hands and I want to give you the heads up\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry, we\u2019re busy at the moment right now with pressing\nmatters\u201d\u2026click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>===============================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3.Musicians Union Failed To Win Streaming Residuals \u2013 Its Main Goal In Film &amp; TV Contract\u00a0Negotiations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nAmerican Federation of Musicians failed to achieve its main goal in its\nrecently concluded negotiations for a new film and TV contract \u2013 winning\nresiduals for musicians\u2019 work on episodic TV shows made for streaming services.\nEven so, the 80,000-member union says it will keep fighting for those payments\nwhen the contract comes up for renewal in two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nnegotiations with management\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/amptp\/\">AMPTP<\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2019\/11\/musicians-union-reaches-deal-with-producers-for-new-film-and-tv-contract-1202794730\/\">concluded\nwith a tentative agreement<\/a> on Friday, but terms of the deal\nweren\u2019t released until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nnew two-year contract, which still&nbsp;must be ratified by the union\u2019s\nmembers, \u201cincludes many substantive improvements and no significant\nconcessions,\u201d the AFM said, \u201cyet still does not include residuals for work on\nfilms and episodic TV shows made for streaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The union added: \u201cFor the first time in history, musicians will receive\nscreen credits when they perform on theatrical and streamed film scores. Also\nfor the first time, the proposed deal establishes fair wages and conditions for\nhigh-budget shows made for streaming platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other economic improvements include an increase in musician residual\npayments for shows rented and purchased online, as well as 3%-a-year wage\nincreases. According to the union, \u201cMusicians successfully resisted attempts by\nthe studios to impose unjustified concessions, including those that would allow\nstudios to score more TV shows and films abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AFM added: \u201cWhile these unprecedented achievements are significant wins\nfor musicians, their biggest demand \u2014 residuals for work in new media \u2014 was not\nincluded in the final offer by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television\nProducers. While the studios continue to refuse industry-standard residuals for\nnew media projects, musicians have made it clear that this is still a priority\nand that they will continue to fight for this basic standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AFM president Ray Hair called the deal a temporary \u201ctruce\u201d in its ongoing\nbattle for streaming residuals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe campaign for fairness in our\ncontract with the studios, particularly on the issue of compensation and\nresiduals for content made for streaming, has energized not only our film and\ntelevision musicians in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, but musicians\nthroughout the country. The tentative agreement, if ratified, will be viewed as\na short-term truce. While we\u2019ve made meaningful progress on how we are\nrecognized and treated when we perform scoring sessions for theatrical and long\nform new media productions, our musicians\u2019 concerted activity will continue as\nthe backdrop to our ongoing efforts to obtain fair residual terms whenever we\nare engaged to score content made for streaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>===========================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. MEMBER COMMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Great blog! I agree with and support\nboth articles by Ari and the one with the letter. However, I think the most\ncompelling article is the one written by the current AFM member. I\u2019ve spoken\nwith many union members about AB5 and learned that many of them did NOT support\nthis bill. Very little information was shared prior to September 18, 2019 when\nthe bill was signed by Governor Newsom. Even after the law was signed, the\nmajority of music professionals I spoke to knew nothing about the law. If the\nAFM was truly \u201crepresenting\u201d the voice of their members and the music\ncommunity, they should have done a much better job at educating everyone about\nthe impending bill BEFORE it was signed into law. Now we must spend our\nprecious time and resources complying with the law while also fighting for an\nexemption. Great job AFM!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>============================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until Next Time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Committee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AB5 UPDATE, LOCAL 47 MUSICIANS\u2019 UNION TO TREASURY: LET US REDUCE BENEFITS IN 2021. UNION FAILS TO WIN STREAMING RESIDUALS MEMBER COMMENT &#8230;Absolutely guaranteed anonymity &#8211; Former Musician&#8217;s Union officer\u2028 &#8230;The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity &#8211; Nashville &#8216;first call&#8217;\u2028scoring musician &#8230;Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851","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=851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}