Archive for the ‘Endorsements’ Category

Actors Equity Association Endorses Justice for Jazz Artists!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

The National Council of the Actors Equity Association, chaired by Executive Director John Connelly, declared their full and unambiguous support for Local 802’s Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign on Tuesday, October 21, 2009. The resolution to endorse was supported by a unanimous vote. Council members from Chicago and Los Angeles weighed in with their “yea” votes via conference call.

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Endorsers

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Check out our new endorsers page! The list is necessarily incomplete, but we’ll be updating as we add more supporters.  Check out our many political, education, religious endorsers, as well as writers and of course jazz musicians.

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J4JA Petitioners Now Over 900!

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Hey All:

J4JA! Petitioners have now reached over 900 concerned professional musicians and fans from all over! Here are some recent signers:

Dave Liebman
Helen Merrill
Bernice Watkins
Sean Gough
Gail Hightower
Ayodele Maakheru
Bob Blumenthal
Regina Carter
Laurence Donohue-Greene

We are building steam!

Keep up the good work!

Best,

Jimmy Owens
Bob Cranshaw
J4JA!

Posted in Announcements, Endorsements, Jazz news, Labor, Music Industry, New York City, Pension, Sales Tax | 4 Comments »

J4JA! Update

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Over 800 musicians have signed our Justice for Jazz Artists! (J4JA!) petition to get benefits in the NY area jazz clubs.

Most have come in via the J4JA website, the Broadway pit orchestras, and a Constant Contact mailing from earlier this month. Many signatures have also been procured by musicians.

Recent prominent signers include:

Regina Carter James Carter David Amram Bob Wilber

Phil Woods James Spaulding Rudresh Mahanthappa

Judi Silvano  Nicholas Payton  Phil Woods

Organist, DJ and Local 802 Member Jon Hammond came through with streaming video and KYOU radio spots, and some timely postings on the web, which have had a definite impact.

Thanks Jon!

http://tinyurl.com/mmyst8

http://www.viddler.com/explore/h…

Justice for Jazz Artists Facebook Cause page has 115 members and is growing daily.  If you are on Facebook, join the cause and get your frinds to join as well.

We are negotiating with Judson Memorial Church (in Washington Square Park) so that they may rent us space for an NYC rally at the end of September

Our letter to former NYC mayor Honorable David N. Dinkins is signed and ready to go. We are also preparing letters for Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangle and other prominent NY political figures

Here is an updated list of our Coalition Endorsers:

American Federation of Musicians, Tom Lee, President; Sam Folio, Secretary Treasurer
Local 802, American Federation of Musicians
Local 802 Jazz Advisory Committee
Local 802 Theater Committee
Jazz Foundation of America
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Rabbi Michael Feinberg Executive Director
New York City Central Labor Council
Jazz Ministry at St. Peter’s Church, Amandus J. Derr, Senior Pastor
New School Jazz Department Faculty Committee
Andy Kirk Research Foundation
Rutgers-Newark Master’s Program in Jazz History and Research
Dr. Lewis Porter, Jazz Historian and Educator
Dan Morgenstern, Jazz Historian and former editor of Down Beat
Amiri Baraka, Poet, Writer, Activist*
John Chilton, Jazz Historian
Loren Schoenberg, Jazz Writer, Archivist*
Stanley Crouch, Journalist, Jazz Historian*
Maxine Gordon (widow of Dexter Gordon) *
Gary Giddins, Jazz Journalist
Nat Hentoff, Jazz Journalist
NY City Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-34, Brooklyn)
NY City Councilman Eric N. Gioia (D-26, Queens) *
NY City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin (D-5, Manhattan) *

*signed on in the last two weeks

Thanks for all of your hard work, and for supporting J4JA!

Spread the Word!

Best,

Todd Bryant Weeks
J4JA

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Campaign Picks Up Speed

Monday, June 15th, 2009

The Justice for Jazz Artists campaign continues to pick up speed. We now have over 270 petitioners! This number is up from 144 on May 1.

We are currently seeking the endorsements of elected officials and religious leaders, even as we build our petition of jazz artists and musicians who work in other areas—particularly on Broadway and in the concert field.

Here is our list of Coalition Endorsers at Present:

  • American Federation of Musicians, Tom Lee, President; Sam Folio, Secretary Treasurer
  • Local 802, Associated Musicians of Greater New York
  • Local 802 Jazz Advisory Committee
  • Local 802 Theater Committee
  • Jazz Foundation of America
  • Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director
  • New York Central Labor Council
  • Jazz Ministry at St. Peter’s Church, Amandus J. Derr, Senior Pastor
  • New School Jazz Department Faculty Committee
  • Andy Kirk Research Foundation
  • NY City Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-34, Brooklyn)
  • Rutgers-Newark Master’s Program in Jazz History and Research
  • Dr. Lewis Porter, Jazz Historian and Educator
  • Dan Morgenstern, Jazz Historian and former editor of Down Beat
  • John Chilton, Jazz Historian
  • Maxine Gordon (widow of Dexter Gordon)
  • Gary Giddins, Jazz Journalist
  • Nat Hentoff, Jazz Journalist

Won’t you print up copies of the J4JA Petition and Fact Sheet and convince your fellow musicians to sign on? Then simply mail them in to the address below—or drop by the union’s Jazz Dept—on the 3rd floor.

AFM Local 802
322 West 48th Street
New York, New York 10036

Associated Musicians of Greater New York, AFM Local 802
322 West 48th Street 3rd floor
New York, New York 10036

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