Union Dues Lol

Rusty Rhoads · From: The Motor City

are you kidding me nashville union is a bigger joke iam owed over 6 grand for recording an album with said band from INDIANA and got paid for the demom then it went on to master session and did not get paid and what did the union do NOT A DAM THING ! to protect my rights so guess what if i ever see that band hmmmm well wonder how much equipment they have i can sell for 6 grand ? FAIR IS FAIR they owe me i dont owe them

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I hope that union humper sees this one! Whoa!

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rusty,
Back in '65, I joined the Union in Warren, Ohio. A few years later I moved to Milwaukee, and just stopped payin' my dues in Warren, as I was playing in a non-union hippy band. After a few years, we got a call to do a Iowa College gig, and we had to be Union. I figured I had to pay up my Warren dues to be a member in good standing, and transfer to the Milwaukee Union. I paid Warren $300+ to get up to date. Then I asked them to transfer my membership to Milwaukee. They got my moola, then told me that they couldn't transfer me, because, even though they're called the American Federation of Musicians, all the unions were actually separate, and local. And that I had to join the Milwaukee Union. Well, I was a sucker, and they got their money! I joined in Milwaukee, another couple hundred bucks, and went and played the Iowa College gig. We didn't get paid!. I called the Milwaukee Union, expecting them to get our money, and blackball Iowa College. They said they couldn't do either, as Unions were strictly local affairs!
JB, non-union!

Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

Was there a union contract filed on these sessions?

Rusty Rhoads · From: The Motor City

yes there was a contract on the session for sure and the idiot that runs the union in nashville wont get behind it He is a weak no back bone kind of guy with no guts to go after the money and start a law suit a contract is a contract i should just sue the union for 5 times the amount and break them of there bad habits or run for president next election then things would change in nashville he is another example of politically correct dont get the job done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve Alcott · From: New York, New York, USA

If you signed a contract or filled out a tax form, you have a case.

Joe Casey · From: Weeki Wachee .Springs FL (population.9)

Some Unions serve their purpose but I'm with Rusty on this one..I Know of freinds in Nashburg who paid their dues over 20-25 years only to be told of a loophole in the pension plan when they ended their road work careers and turned retirement age, and that resulted in them being ineligible for benefits..I use to work a certain amusement park in the North East every summer sometimes backing uncontained Nashville artist and other times our own show...I was approached by the local Union and for a moment I almost signed up until the rep said I had to sign or I wouldn't be able to play there..To make a long story short I told him where to go and worked this venue for 12 years..On the Contract thing..I always signed contracts on short gigs like New Years ,stage shows, or parties..I had a new Years gig at a Club for good money and a legal Contract..We had signed this about 4 months in advance and about 1 month before the New Year the Club changed formats to Rock and Roll.I was informed by phone that our services would not be needed..I went there in person and told the owner he had to pay us anyway whether we played it or not and to reread the contract he signed..He talked to his Lawyer and we played to a dozen people that New years eve,took 15 minute breaks and did 4 sets and got paid every penny..Contracts can be enforced..

Steve Alcott · From: New York, New York, USA

A friend of mine was approached to record music for an amusement park a few years ago. Non-union, straight buyout, 1099, the usual independent contractor scam. The rate seemed pretty good til it was discovered that the last session for this park had been several years previous; when residuals and reuse were added up, the buyout was quite a bit lower than a legit session would have paid over that time period.
I myself get a couple of checks four times a year from a jingle I recorded at least 10 years ago simply because the latest version contains some of my original track. Unions would work better if we joined them and forced them to change-there is strength in numbers.

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · From: Southaven, MS, USA

I joined Local 71, Memphis when I was 16 y/r old. I later resigned because school work was too much of a burden to consider playing. I paid up in 1980 and worked my Hawaiian show for c. 8 years. A friend told me that there is a l7 piece orchestra on Beale St. that
plays 'for the hat.' They played primarily to back up a well known Memphis singer; I wont mention her name. Of course the band gets little recognition---the STAR behind the mic was the one to benefit most. I resigned again. I remain that way. There is little a union can do to get you what is owed to you--because they don't have a lawyer on retainer. YOU as a member can hire a lawyer at YOUR exense. About 1986, my group was hired to play a show--cocktail houu, and dance for a well known cosmetic company at the Sheraton Music City (Nashville). I always pay my group 'out of my pocket' after the engagement as
promised in the contract. It took the cosmetic company about 2 months to cut my check. In the meantime, the union said that all they could do was make a call to them which they did not do.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

Alan Tanner · From: Near Dayton, Ohio

I had some years in the union also. Finally I just got tired of paying for nothing. The local union head had a band, and any time someone would call the union for a band, she would take the job. Near as I could tell, all we did was finance the big trip to Hawaii every year for a huge union shindig. They had a newspaper back then, and still might, that listed places that were on the "no play" list. There was a night club in there for years that had burned to the ground, never to rise again, and they just kept listing it.....crazy.... there IS strength in numbers, but around here thats just so much tweedle. There are too many pickers and bands that will steal your job in a second, even if they have to play for next to nuthin', which a lot of guys already are. These are the true bottom feeders of the music biz....

Michael J Pfeifer · From: New York NY 10036

I am an inactive Teamster,and a former volunteer organizer. Union corruption from the past has hurt many. The U.S. Dept. of Justice,under the RICO Act has rid unions of corruption for the most part.

The other big problem is members do not know their rights. If members took the time to learn basic labor laws,and basic unionism,they would be able to get what they need from their union.

If you are a union member,get a copy of your union's By-laws and constitution. Next,get a copy of the NLRA,the Landrum-Griffin act,the Taft-Hartley act,and the Norris-LaGuardia act. After reading this material a few times, you will be better prepared to deal with a union. Good luck.

Steve Gorman · From: Gilroy California

Rusty Rhoads · From: The Motor City

i say a baseball bat to the knees works really nice or a pair of pliers to the fingers of said people that owe the money should influence them to pay
or a vise grip on the scrotum
If The union president would act the way he should and file suit against said party !
one way or the other i will get my money one day i will not forget!!!!!!!!

Mark Dershaw · From: Arizona and Ohio

John B... your story makes me laugh because I joined the Warren Oh Union many years ago, except I was lucky enough to learn my lesson early on. We got stiffed by a club in Cleveland. Of course the Union would do nothing for us. I only paid 1 year of dues. Never again...

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Man! We all joined the Warren Union cuz the membership fee was something like $12. Totally worthless!

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

Joined the Denver local approximately 1977.Happy to take my $,not so great about finding work.Let my dues lapse around 1981.Decided to give it another try a couple of years later,paid about $100 to get up to date.Well,they got me a union gig.Paid $37.50.Figured that was a little too much pay-to-play,so I let it lapse and never renewed.

I think musicians do need an advocate in the marketplace,partly to enforce contracts,but just as importantly to counter municipal regulation that diverts customer entertainment spending away from entertainers and towards (allegedly) public health and safety.

And just to let my inner cynic out to play....Has anyone noticed that entertainment-friendly jurisdictions often welcome certain very discreet business entities into the decision-making process?

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

great! i missed your posts, rusty, since the steel comparison test fiasco and before. keep em coming. i find you entertaining in your seemingly altered state. especially love the 'pliers' part...not to mention the vise grips to the 'scrodem' (?)

Gary Lee Gimble · From: Fredericksburg, VA.

now now chris, choose your words carefully or you may find thoulst hydraulics inside a pipe cutter Razz

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LJ Eiffert · From: California, USA

So how do you under-write this topic? Not fair.Unjust.Not godly.Sinful.Under-stated.It's stimulus.Good lucky to all who have had to feel this pain of brotherhood in the music business.I've been there too! And now you want to get out'rage over what made it in a out-witted game.character matters. Looks like the mixture is artificically done. We ain't gonna win by crying over dried out pigeon poop in a frozen water bed. I just hope we don't get loss of control in each others senations of,wild thing. Smile

Leo J.Eiffert,jr & his Pigeons Band

Eric West · From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.

Rusty.

Not to nit pick, but it's "Scrotum".

Smile

EJL

Stuart Legg · Posted 18 Jan 2011 10:53 pm

Eric with a vise grip on it, spelling it correctly won't help. Laughing

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Yeah, even with the parenthesis. Never tried that with a vise grip. Let us know how that works out for you. Need a new Forum section for that one. Maybe title it "Ball Sack".

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

years back ( late 60's early 70's) my buddy and I were members of the Italian Mob Musicians Union, I say that because all they did was act like Tony Soprano and argue at the meetings , but non the less we were members and went to meetings and laughed..

What did the Union ever do for us ? Not really anything but the dues were worth the value of the entertainment of the Union Leaders at the meetings ! The screaming, arguing etc...

One time my buddy and I were playing in another town, it was not a Union gig and worse ( for them) two other players were not Union. A Union thug came in, looking like Joe Pesci and threatened to shut the club down then threatened the musicians if we did not join the Union, I showed him my union card and he threatened to fine me for playing the gig. Both me and my buddy ripped up our cards and handed them to him. The club owner told the guy to leave or he would call the Police which I think he did anyway. So much for the Union in our area.

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of NYC Union player friends who have no issues with being Union players...I think it works for some, in some area's but not for all...

I hate that Rusty got burned, never mind the Union, just burned in general.

The term" get paid as you go" becomes relevant ....but sadly this happens to many people, not just musicians...
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Mark Dershaw · From: Arizona and Ohio

If you use the words vise-grips and scrotum in the same sentence... you might be a redneck. Laughing

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