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Grievance Report,  Labor Abuse March 25,  2008
Landolfi and Schaffner Lead Talks That Collect $69,700 in New Use Grievance

 

Legally Blande media payments chart

This story is about the intersection between the 802 Broadway contract and AFM media agreements. Getting recorded performances properly paid can be difficult to follow. The chart at the left illustrates the payment settlements for musicians working the show Legally Blonde.

The special agreement entered into by Local 802 with Bruiser on Broadway, the Legally Blonde producer, for the broadcast on MTV of the show will net orchestra members and music preparation musicians a total of $166,962. The wages include:

  • $26,411 in Broadway wages from the additional rehearsal hours and the added ninth performance that were necessary to tape this program in October (top of diagram)
  • $24,429 to music copyists for the new use of their charts in the MTV production (second box in diagram),
  • $46,417 in scale wages for the 18 pit musicians under the original MTV agreement for up to six broadcast releases within 30 days (blue center of the diagram);
  • $69,704 in settlement of the union grievance for the re-broadcast of the program on Thanksgiving, one week outside the agreed upon 30 day limit; anda new release of three broadcast cycles within the first two weeks of April to coincide with the new MTV reality show, depicting a contest to choose a new star for the Broadway show, along with the limited use of one-minute clips in this reality series (bottom of the diagram).

That makes a grand total of $166,962. $140,550 of these wages are in addition to all scale wages and premiums in the Broadway contract.

A Broadway pit musician with no doubles will end up earning a minimum of $5,600 not including any work that will be done for the reality show. All musician show premiums for doubling, conducting and contracting still apply and are on top of these base wages.

These figures do not include any additional recording or production sessions that will be required for the new reality show, nor do they include any additional rehearsal hours under the Broadway contract that may be necessary for the new star in the Broadway show. If any of the latter are also filmed or recorded, these will pay in accordance with the AFM Basic Television Film Agreement. 

The union was represented by President Mary Landolfi, Recording Supervisor Jay Schaffner, Executive Board and orchestra member Bud Burridge, Assistant to the President Joel LeFevre and 802 attorney Daniel Engelstein. The 802 Executive Board approved the settlement last week.
Should you have questions please don't hesitate to  call the 802 Theatre Department Business Representative Marisa Friedman at 212 245-4802 x130 or e-mail mfriedman@local802afm.org
802 Notes can be reached by sending an e-mail to 802notes@local802afm.org .
U. N. Agency Says NLRB Violates
Worker Rights 
 

Imagine 802 contracts with no leaders, no associate conductors, no arrangers, no supervising copyists  nor contractors of any type.  Local 802 would lose a lot of bargaining power. Denying rights to anyone working those titles is exactly what the current NLRB would do - but they have been called on it.  A key international agency ruled today that the Bush administration's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is denying workers' rights in violation of international labor standards. 

The International Labor Organization's (ILO's) Committee on Freedom of Association held that the NLRB's definitions of "supervisor" in the Oakwood cases violates freedom of association standards by excluding staff that only occasionally perform supervisory duties from protection of the National Labor Relations Act. The United States is bound to follow international core labor standards as a member of the ILO.

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