State of the Local — President Dave Pomeroy

“There will always be challenges on the road ahead that are best addressed with honesty, openness and fairness.”

As we witness the long-awaited revitalization of live music and the continuing surge of new recording, streaming and television projects, we are grateful that we have made it through one of the most challenging periods in the history of the music industry. Once again, The Nashville Way, the organic system of mutual respect between employers and musicians that is the hallmark of the best of Music City, has shown the world that the music business can be a win-win when people treat each other how they would like to be treated. That is how we got here, and we are constantly making adjustments and finding new ways to make sure musicians are paid and their intellectual property is protected. There will always be challenges on the road ahead that are best addressed with honesty, openness and fairness. Not everyone “gets it,” but we are making progress every day and will continue to fight for what is right in the most peaceful way possible. Music has the power to bring people together and drive positive change in the world. We are proud to represent not only our members, but all Nashville musicians.

(l-r Pat Coil and band with Brian Allen, Jeff Coffin, Jordan Perlson and Pat Bergeson

Membership drive: I am happy to report that our two-month membership drive in February and March brought in more than 50 new Local 257 members. The demographic shift towards a younger and more diverse membership that has been building for the past decade is manifesting itself in a big way, and is exciting to see. Even since the end of the drive, we are still seeing new members come in and join nearly every day.

New member Byron Chambers aka Mr. Talkbox, performs for the NARAS Grammy Nominee celebration at the Hutton Hotel

New contract updates: We have a new one-year contract with the General Jackson showboat, with a three percent raise across the board, following up on a six percent raise last year. The new riverboat theme show for this year is called “Rollin’ on the River,” and features an expanded band with a horn section. In addition, our new Grand Ole Opry agreement has been ratified and will result in raises for all three years of the contract. The back-end payments from our previous contract were an unprecedented $170,000, and as the Opry continues to expand its fan base via the internet and cable TV, those numbers will continue to go up. These two long running contracts have seen significant improvements in wages and working conditions, and we will continue to work on bringing more and more work under AFM contracts.

Right to work for less: There is a proposal on the ballot in the upcoming November election that would embed the already onerous right-to-work laws that currently exist in our state into the Tennessee state constitution, in order to make it that much harder to get rid of this unfair concept. This was proposed by a Memphis legislator who is stepping down after being caught with his hand in the cookie jar of his campaign finances, and is a ridiculously bad idea. The original legislation was passed in 1947, and is an obstacle that we deal with almost every day, as some people will use this to rip off workers, plain and simple. Others will use this to use our services without paying for them, while enjoying all the benefits of union contracts. This includes fair wages, payment for new uses of their work, and building and collecting an AFM pension that is sometimes bigger than their Social Security payments.

It may be technically legal to avoid being a union member and/or employ musicians without a union contract, but that doesn’t make it right. Ironically, the rise of Nashville as a worldwide music center happened in the decade after the original law was passed, because Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins stood up to the big record companies who came here to profit from “hillbilly music,” and insisted that musicians be treated with respect by working under an AFM contract. This is how we can get musicians paid again and again for the use of their work, and Local 257 has become the third largest AFM local in the U.S. We will be asking all of you to let your voices be heard at the ballot box in November, and vote “No” to this unnecessary proposal, which makes no sense whatsoever, and will hurt all working Tennesseans. Thanks in advance for your help with this and other issues, and for your participation in our union. We will always be stronger when we stand together and look out for one another.

That’s the Nashville Way.