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Musicians union pro or con (Page 2)
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The Steel Guitar Forum
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Musicians union pro or con (Page 2)
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| This topic is 2 pages long: 1 2 This topic was originally posted in this forum: Wanted To Buy |
| Author | Topic: Musicians union pro or con |
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Larry Clark Member Posts: 419 |
posted 11 March 2000 05:25 PM
Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. It sounds as though the main reason to join the union is mostly geographic. Larry Clark, Herndon, Va. |
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Rich Paton Member Posts: 686 |
posted 12 March 2000 07:10 AM
Earl, 3% of gross is pretty steep dues, but what amount is recovered as pension or other "tangibles"? I have to pay dues to a Teamsters' local to work on radar equipment...go figure! I pay only 1.23% of gross, in return for virtually zero representation, and a very measley pension. So if you get a decent return on that 3%.... If I do a road job to Chicago to test field equipment, I can't as much as plug a test instrument into a receptacle without the company getting slammed with a big fine. I have to pay a local IBEW electrician to plug an O'scope in. But then again, that's what we 'got to work with on this planet! I,m not sying it would be any easier a job, but I'd rather gladly pay the 3% to be a pro musician, vs. 1.25% to repair electronics. I'm sure Jimmy Hoffa would back me up on that! |
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Richard Bass Member Posts: 579 |
posted 12 March 2000 08:57 AM
I've been a mmember of 257 here in Nashville since 1965. It seems to me the union is just a necessary part of being in the business in Nashville it hasn't helped me or hurt me. Richard ------------------ |
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Earl Erb Member Posts: 886 |
posted 12 March 2000 09:30 AM
Rich,I'm not sure how much money,if any,the union puts toward the pension fund.As far as I knew the companies I worked for over the years were the ones contributing money to the pension and welfare fund,not the union. It cost me $141.25 to renew my card this year and it goes up every year.It was $116.00 last year.The break down of that figure is,$76.00 local dues,$62.25 for funeral benefit, and $3.00 for emergency relief fund.Medical and instrument insurance are not part of the package. I haven't played professionally since 1987 and the only reason I maintain my status with the union is to protect my pension and benefits that I earned from 1968 to 1987. Sorry I can't give you anymore details about where the money goes.I'll try and find out more about this,I never gave it much thought until now. I know that for years the work dues was 2% and I was very surprised when I heard that it had gone to 3%.My immediate reaction to that was...for what? After my initial post I thought of one benefit for the increase in the dues.Now my wife will be able to stuff me in a double hulled pine box instead of a single.That's got to be worth something.  [This message was edited by Earl Erb on 12 March 2000 at 09:43 AM.] [This message was edited by Earl Erb on 12 March 2000 at 09:45 AM.] [This message was edited by Earl Erb on 12 March 2000 at 11:52 AM.] |
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Earnest Bovine Member Posts: 4687 |
posted 12 March 2000 11:34 AM
quote: Work Dues pays the operating expenses of the Union. The Pension Fund is a separate deduction, as is the Health and Welfare Fund. The exact amount varies according to which agreement you are working under (i.e. TV Film, Night Club, etc) but it tends to be around 8% for Pension, 8% for Health & Welfare, and 3% for Work Dues. Altho everybody pays into H&W, only a very small percentage of the members contribute enough to qualify for health insurance. |
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