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Jimmy Owens. Photo: Enid Farber

For any and all of you that are interested in the issue of fairness, and would like to see a more level playing field in the NYC jazz club scene, the following article in last week’s NY Times may be of interest to you.  

The leafleting phase of our long term campaign has begun.  The goals of this campaign are far reaching: we seek a national network of clubs where musicians can expect fair wages, a regular pension contribution (and this is for AFM members and non members alike) and some ability to negotiate their working conditions—not to mention more ownership of their own music as recorded in the club, especially in regard to new and future use. 

For those of you who see the actions of J4JA! or the goals of this campaign as too little too late, you have a right to be skeptical; the union has been grappling with the pension issue for years.  But the musicians’ union, and a small group of determined jazz artists from within its ranks, have not given up. 

For those of you who support what we are trying to do with J4JA!, we encourage you to spread the word, sign the petition (currently at 3,000 + signatures), and get involved. 

At most of NYC’s major jazz venues, a pension contribution for one musician is equivalent to the price of two drinks (about $25.00).  At a club like the Blue Note, the cost for pension contributions for a trio for one night can be covered, in many cases, by the price of one individual audience member’s cover charge. 

J4JA! supporters will continue their informational leafleting in front of the  Blue Note this week, Wednesday and Thursday, December 21st and 22nd from aprox. 7-10PM.

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to jazzjustice@local802afm.org

Finally: take a look at the article below and if you agree with what’s happening, pass it on to your friends and colleagues. And if you have yet to do so, please take a moment to sign our petition. 

All the Best, 

Todd Weeks 

Justice for Jazz Artists! 

J4JA!

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Jazz Musicians Start a Pension Push

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

Published: December 12, 2011

The campaign began quietly last Thursday night, when four members of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians stood in the cold outside the Blue Note in Greenwich Village and handed out leaflets with the headline “Justice for Jazz Artists!” Musicians continued passing out information outside the Blue Note over the weekend and said they would do so again starting on Thursday.

“It’s just a sin that we have no pension,” said Keisha St. Joan, 72, a jazz vocalist who was distributing leaflets. “I will not have a pension before I die.”

For five years club owners have resisted the union’s efforts and remain divided about the idea. Some accuse the 8,000-member union of trolling for new revenue to prop up the pension fund, whose main beneficiaries are mostly retired Broadway musicians, studio session players and classical musicians who are covered by union contracts. Though some jazz artists belong to the union, they generally work in nonunion clubs. Consequently they have for decades received less pay and fewer benefits than union musicians.

Some club owners also contend that most of the top-tier jazz players they book would rather receive extra pay than union benefits. Others, among them Ron Sturm at the Iridium, say that they favor the idea in principle, but that it might be difficult to implement. Mr. Sturm, who has met three times with union leaders to talk over the proposal, said he thought the union should try to reach similar agreements with all music clubs, regardless of genre.

“I think it’s a great idea philosophically, but the devil’s in the details,” he said. “How do you do it?”

The owners of the Blue Note, Steve and Danny Bensusan, did not respond to several messages seeking comment.

The disagreement between the union and club owners dates back to 2005, when union leaders joined the night clubs to lobby the State Legislature for a reduction in the sales tax on tickets because the extra revenue would be used to pay for pension and health benefits. In letters supporting the legislation, union officials maintained they had an informal agreement with several club owners to that effect. (A similar trade-off had been made in the 1960s to get pension benefits for Broadway musicians.)

The tax break was passed in 2006, but the union never hammered out a formal pact with the club owners. Five years later none of the clubs have entered negotiations with the union to sign collective bargaining agreements. Those agreements are legally required before the clubs can begin paying into Local 802’s pension system. Two years ago, the union elected new leaders who have made pensions for jazz artists a priority.

When the legislation was passed, the union estimated the major jazz clubs  each stood to gain about $67,000 a year from lifting the tax. In 2008 the state estimated it amounted to a tax loss of about $2.2 million a year.

Some club managers say the plan was flawed from the start. Repealing the tax saved the customers money but never produced extra revenue for the clubs, they say. The owners have balked at raising ticket prices to pay for the pension contributions, though some have suggested collecting donations from patrons.

Lorraine Gordon, the owner of the Village Vanguard, said she supported the idea of pensions for jazz artists but added that profit margins are slim at clubs and that costs continue to rise.

“I pay all the traffic will bear in a little club,” she said. “My bottom line is what I have to look at, in order to keep the club functioning.”

Other club managers also argue that asking them to write a separate check to the pension fund for every musician who steps on their stages each year is impractical and costly. “It would be an accounting nightmare for us,” said the programming director for one of the city’s major jazz clubs, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals from the union.

He said the clubs generally hire bandleaders, who in turn employ side musicians. He said that the bandleaders are independent contractors, and that it makes more sense for them to pay into the pension fund on behalf of their employees rather than the clubs.

Union leaders say the goal of the campaign is to reach bare-bones labor agreements with five of the biggest jazz clubs in New York City — the Blue Note, the Village Vanguard, Birdland, the Jazz Standard and the Iridium — as well as with Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, which is run by the nonprofit Jazz at Lincoln Center.

John O’Connor, a vice president of the union, said those pacts, if signed, would only be the beginning. The union also intends to reach similar agreements with clubs in other major cities, creating a network of places that pay pension benefits. That way touring musicians could rack up credit in the pension system no matter where they played. But the key to the union’s long-term plans, he said, is persuading prominent clubs in New York to come aboard.

“What we are really trying to do is to expand our house,” Mr. O’Connor said. “We want 802 to become the champion of all musicians in New York City.”

Under the union’s proposal the owners of the clubs would make a contribution for every musician they hire — both bandleaders and sidemen — whether they are vested in the pension or not. The amount would be a percentage of a minimum wage scale established under the agreement.

Musicians do not have to be in the union to qualify for a pension, but they do have to earn a certain amount in clubs or other workplaces that have agreements with the union. Specifically, a musician must earn an average of $3,000 a year from covered employers for five years.

That threshold is hard for musicians who play most of their gigs in nonunion clubs. “It’s a real Catch-22,” said Wendy Oxenhorn, the executive director of the Jazz Foundation of America, which helps destitute musicians.

She said many jazz players, especially sidemen and second-tier performers, find themselves facing old age with no pension and little in the way of Social Security, since much of their pay was in cash and off the books.

In private some jazz musicians oppose the union’s efforts, arguing they would rather handle their own retirements. But others support the union and say the owners reneged on a promise they made in return for the tax repeal. They say they doubt the owners’ contention that it was the ticket buyers who benefited from removing the tax.

“They are collecting that money, and they are using it for whatever reason they feel like,” said Bernard Purdie, a jazz drummer and bandleader, just before going on at Carnegie Hall with Galt MacDermot and the New Pulse Jazz Band. “They have been getting away with it for the last four or five years.”

A version of this article appeared in print on December 13, 2011, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Jazz Musicians Start a Pension Push.

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J4JA! Musicians, led by Jimmy Owens, Rally Outside the Blue Note. Photo: Enid Farber.

Justice for Jazz Artists! (J4JA!) is a coalition of over 3,000 musicians, advocates, and fans who seek equity in the form of fair treatment of jazz (and other musicians) in the NYC nightclubs.

Since 2005, J4JA! has been seeking to engage with NYC nightclub owners (including the management of clubs such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Iridium, the Village Vanguard and the Jazz Standard) to negotiate for fair working conditions in the clubs,  especially in regard to the issue of retirement benefits.

Jazz artists have historically been among the most exploited and abused in the music business. They are often the lowest paid for their music and commonly receive none of the retirement benefits that musicians in other fields take for granted. Many find themselves facing old age with no pension and little in the way of social security payments after a lifetime of performing in the club scene.

This unfair and abusive dynamic must be changed.  For years, we have been trying to get the clubs to do the right thing and treat jazz musicians with dignity and respect.

WE DEMAND:  fair minimum scale wages; decent pension contributions;  protections against exploitation of musicians regarding recording (and the reuse of recorded music);  and a process for settling disputes with club owners.

Musicians and fans are encouraged to sign the J4JA! petition (click on link above) and to volunteer by sending an email to jazzjustice@local802afm.org

Justice for Jazz Artists!

www.justiceforjazzartists.org

Continue reading »]]> Last night a small but determined group of musicians and their supporters hit the street in front of the Blue Note to hand out informational literature on J4JA! to audience members and passersby.

Central to their message were their four demands:

1.)               fair PAY,

Enid Farber photo, 2009.

2.)               a decent PENSION,

3.)               PROTECTIONS for the recording or reuse of the music, and a

4.)               PROCESS for settling disputes

At about 7:15PM, one J4JA! musician found himself standing face to face with Blue Note co-owner, Daniel Bensusan.

Bensusan was not happy.

According to one source, Bensusan demanded that the leafleters clear the sidewalk in front of the club, and threatened to call NYPD, which he eventually did.

Local 802 Organizing Director Leon Bell was there to attempt to enage Mr. Bensusan in rational discussion–and when police appeared, Bell was also there to consult with the officers on duty.

Police listend to Bensusan’s complaint, but then agreed to allow leafleters their consitutional free speech rights as long as they agreed not to block access to the club.

Leafleters were respectful and did not block access or attempt to convince any patrons not to enter the Blue Note.

Later, a reporter form the NY Times interviewed J4JA! musicians for a story planned for next week.

All in all, a very successful first night.

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The time for waiting is over. Meet us in front of the Blue Note to make some noise.

It’s time to turn up the heat. As of Dec. 8, Local 802 and its allies will begin keeping a presence at the Blue Note and other recalcitrant clubs, handing out leaflets and demanding that they enter into collective bargaining with the union over pension and other issues.

Why are we doing this?

We’ve all heard the story. A legendary jazz musician who did well when his or her career was in full swing has now fallen on hard times and is struggling to make the rent or pay the mortgage.

This kind of thing happens so often that a charitable organization known as the Jazz Foundation of America was created with the mission of helping musicians, many in their elder years, with financial help to keep the wolf away from the door.

Musicians who are members of Local 802 can find additional help through our Musicians’ Assistance Program and its Emergency Relief Fund. In fact, Local 802’s 90th anniversary gala is all about replenishing the fund so that emergency help is available to those in need.

What about pension? The AFM pension fund was established in 1959 to begin the task of giving musicians a secure retirement future. Over the years the fund grew stronger and covered more and more musicians, from the recording session field to Broadway to symphonic orchestras.

But along the way jazz musicians, those who changed the face of American music, were left out of the equation.

Why?

The work that jazz musicians did was chiefly in the nightclub scene in New York and other American cities.

The fact that none of the clubs were covered by a union contract with pension benefits belies the myth of the “union nightclub.” When it came to fairness under collective bargaining, there was never such an animal as a “union club.”

Jazz musicians joined the union and paid their dues, but derived nothing in the way of a pension, unlike their brothers and sisters at Lincoln Center, on Broadway and those working society, casual or wedding gigs.

The need for the Emergency Relief Fund and the Jazz Foundation of America would be greatly lessened if career jazz musicians collected a regular monthly pension check guaranteed upon retirement.

And that’s exactly what would happen if these musicians were covered by the AFM pension fund.

The few jazz musicians who have benefited from the pension fund are those who managed to gain regular work covered by a union contract, such as Broadway work or work on network television.

Changing the past

Our Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign began in the mid-1990’s, but we never really tackled the basic reality: the clubs themselves must become unionized.

For a variety of reasons, Local 802 and other AFM locals have failed to find an effective way to make this happen.

And so, as of today, jazz and other music nightclubs remain nonunion, even though many of these clubs can well afford to pay the benefits that would make the difference between poverty and a decent life in the latter years of countless musicians.

We aim to change that. We envision a world in which a musician can, while touring the jazz circuit, rack up enough pension benefit credit to be vested in the AFM pension fund and have a steady pension income when the time comes that it is needed.

A solution exists

In 2007, a law was passed that eliminated the tax on admissions to nightclubs of a certain size. The union worked with the major jazz clubs to lobby for that law.

The money that clubs and customers would save on this tax would allow them to pay pension to their musicians.

The enacted legislation provided the tax break to the nightclubs, but the musicians are still waiting for their pensions. Allegro readers are well-acquainted with this story.

By the time I took office in 2010, numerous attempts had already been made to bring the major jazz clubs into a conversation about all of this. Local 802 heard only one thing from those clubs: silence.

One of the first things I did as recording vice president of this local was to send another letter to the clubs reiterating our desire to open a dialogue. That letter was not answered by a single club. This fall we sent out another letter.

This time was different. One club owner responded to our overture and is engaged in discussions with Local 802. He has expressed an interest in providing pension benefits for musicians and our talks are continuing.

Other clubs, most notably the Blue Note, have failed to respond in any manner and refuse to acknowledge receipt of our letters or respond to our phone calls. Local 802 decided last month that it will wait no longer.

Our fight for justice begins now.

The union will be targeting the Blue Note and other jazz clubs until they agree to enter into negotiations. Of course, we are still hopeful other jazz clubs will come forward voluntarily to seek a workable solution to long-standing injustices.

Our goals in this campaign are:

• Negotiate minimum pay scales that will apply to the major jazz clubs.

• Obtain pension payments for all performers in the clubs.

• Provide musicians with protection against the unauthorized recording and broadcasting of their performances.

• Create a process for the discussion of musician concerns and resolution of grievances.

We have been cautioned by some that an aggressive leverage campaign against the clubs is not a good idea.

But if we don’t apply pressure, how will this goal – which the union has had for years – ever be achieved?

For more than 15 years we have been having this conversation with no results.

Of course, we would be more than happy to solve this with the cooperation of the clubs. But it’s up to them.

The cost of paying pension benefits to musicians in the clubs is much less than the tax break the clubs and their patrons have been eligible for since 2007. Those taking advantage of the tax break have been richer for it, while musicians still go without pension benefits.

Our campaign for collective bargaining in nightclubs does not end with New York. This is just a beginning. Our goal is to extend the basic framework to other clubs in the city and to expand the campaign to a wider level.

With new leadership at the top of the AFM, we have begun conversations with President Ray Hair and officers of other locals who are committed to organizing goals similar to Local 802.

Justice for Jazz Artists! is a national campaign, and it will be played out on a national map. We can start with high-profile venues in cities like Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Boston and Washington, D.C. Over time, we will spread the word: clubs can and will pay pension benefits to musicians.

Though there are no guarantees, we believe we can make this happen. The journey has begun. We call on all members and supporters of jazz music to join us in this just struggle. Join us outside the Blue Note and help make history.

For details on when and where to join us outside the Blue Note and other jazz clubs, send an email to jazzjustice@local802afm.org or check this site for details.

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Justice for Jazz Artists! Rally and March, Greenwich Village, fall 2009. Photo: Enid Farber.

Justice for Jazz Artists! and Local 802 will begin leafleting the Blue Note tonight in an effort to get the club’s attention, and to alert musicians and fans alike to the campaigns’ goals–and to the fact that the Blue Note has not returned our calls.

The demands of the campaign are simple enough:

* fair minimum scale wages
* a decent pension
* protection from the recording or reuse of the music
* a means for addressing grievances in the workplace

According to Local 802′s Recording Vice President, John O’Connor, “We have been cautioned by some that an aggressive leverage campaign against the clubs is not a good idea. But if we don’t apply pressure, how will this goal–which the union has had for years–ever be achieved? We would be more than happy to solve this with the cooperation of the clubs. But it’s up to them.”

We have, with the full co-operation of a select group of prominent jazz artists, as well as burgeoning support from a much larger group of side musicians who perform regularly in the clubs, been highly successful in moving the J4JA! campaign forward, and have even had talks with one major NYC club.

J4JA! and Local 802 will have a presence in front of the Blue Note for the next several weeks.

For more info email jazzjustice@local802afm.org–and check this site for updates.

Continue reading »]]> Nat Hentoff penned a great column about J4JA in the Village Voice this week. Read the whole thing here–please leave comments on his column!

There have been jazz musicians with gigs—Broadway shows or nearly disappeared television network orchestras—who have been able to benefit from the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund. But excluded are the players in nightclubs, where most jazz musicians work…

When I was a kid, a favorite song of mine was the union-organizing rallying cry: “Which side are you on?” New Yorkers going to jazz clubs in this city and its boroughs will increasingly be asked to answer that question.

Continue reading »]]> 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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The Justice for Jazz Artists! Jam Session on August 17^th was a grand success.  A hearty congratulations to all who took part!

Two Mondays ago, Local 802, the Jazz Foundation of America and the 802 Jazz Advisory Committee hosted a Justice for Jazz Artists! Jam Session and Kickoff Event to raise awareness around the current campaign to bring benefits to musicians who work in NYC area jazz clubs.

The award winning filmmaker/musician Ron Grunhut created a splendid high definition video of the event, which features interview clips of Randy Weston, Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Powell, Bernard Purdie, Junior Mance, Reggie Workman, Bob Cranshaw, Sean Lyons and Jimmy Owens, among others.

Featured in the J4JA! video are snippets of performances by Jimmy Owens, Benny Powell, Sean Lyons, Danny Mixon, Kenny Davis, Bernard Purdie, Guadencio Thiago de Mello, Vinnie Knight, Keisha St. Joan, Wade Barnes, Reggie Workman, Bertha Hope, Fran McIntyre and about 2o other performers.

The soundtrack for the video selected by filmmaker Grunhut, was, appropriately, the bluesy “Justice for Jazz Artists,” composed by trumpeter Owens.

The video is about 5 minutes in length, and will be posted on YouTube on or around September 14, 2009.

The Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign is gearing up for future events as we move our campaign into the public sphere this fall.

Local 802 and J4JA! have already been in contact with club owners and NYC political leaders in an effort to resolve issues surrounding the redirection of forgiven NY State tax dollars towards the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund.

The tax dollars can be painlessly redirected from door admission charges towards benefits for performers who work in the club on any given night. The tax money is about .84 cents of every $10 collected at the door.

Club owners must comply with the intentions of state lawmakers, who passed a law forgiving the door sales tax in 2007, and allowing it to go to performers’ benefits.

Thus far, the clubs have refused to do so.

The Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign seeks to change that!

To volunteer in this important effort to help jazz artists in NY State, please email us or call the Local 802 Jazz Department at 212 245 4802 X185.

Continue reading »]]> Invited performers: Billy Taylor; Hank Jones; Bob Cranshaw; Jimmy Owens; Junior Mance; Keisha St. Joan; Lewis Nash; Bernard Purdie and many others…

Monday, August 17th 6-10PM
322 West 48th Street (8th/9th)
NY, NY

This is a FREE Kick-Off Event for the Justice for Jazz Artists Campaign to get benefits for jazz musicians who work in NYC clubs.

Fans Welcome!

All Musicians and Audience Members will required to sign a release upon entry, as this session is being filmed. No partcipation without RSVP!!

RSVP: 212 245 4802 X 158 (Claudia) or email us

See You There!

Best,
Todd Bryant Weeks