agreed.

A union is a bit like a gun...

Not so good when the other guy has one, and you don't!

Musicians have always actively done most everything they could to emasculate their OWN union, and basically disenfranchise themselves from any sort of collective bargaining power.

So now, that union guy handles your gear, and goes home to his wife with a job (whether he's the best handler or not), and you have no power to make sure you do the same. Well done!

I wish to hell someone would offer to haul my gear once in awhile. Just kidding.

Joe

I have all the power over my destiny, cuz I chose to bypass the unions. I will never work in Hollywood or certain other Union facilities, but I'm fine with that. I was in the UAW as a teenager ... never again. I control my world now.

My dad was a truck driver for 45 years, and as such was required to join the Teamsters Union. He often said that if had $10 for every day he was on strike for higher wages he could have retired 20 years earlier.

Gary

Being a teacher I was never a big Union supporter but seeing how the nepotism and political favoritism ruled the district it was all we had to back us. They even sold us out after a two week strike years ago. And we were forced to join or pay 75% of the dues anyway. On one occasion early in my career I had a situation where I might have needed their help but took care of it myself. But again if you needed some legal backing they were there for you.
This thing in AC is so stupid its got me crazy. I have the feeling that this may be my last gig there after a long run. This management company is probably billing the Realtors more for the unloading BS then I'm getting paid. So next year we're both out of a gig. Another strike against us.

I needed the Musicians Union one time 30 years ago, and didn't get fair treatment, so I quit. Their loss, all I missed was 30 years of dues, work dues and BS. The only time I ever heard from them was when it was time to pay.

The Musicians Union - Local 802 - was very strong in New York City, even in Staten Island ...before joining the union I was hired to play a gig in a 'union' catering hall/restaurant ... I told the people who wanted to hire me that being non-union, if the delegate came in he could stop me from playing ... they said they didn't care and hired me anyway ... I played a little more than half the gig and in comes the delegate ... he tells me and the client that he would order the entire staff - waitresses, bartenders, kitchen, etc. to walk out if I didn't stop playing ... I stopped, the client told me to stay and have dinner, paid me, AND gave me the tip they were going to give me at the end of the gig ...
about a month later I joined the union ... it worked out well us ... they imposed 'minimums' on the number of musicians a person would have to hire for catering halls, etc., which helped put more musicians to work ... plus we got to know the local delegate pretty well and he would book us for gigs through the union...
During the 70s the 'house band' for several large catering halls in NY brought a suit against the union regarding the room 'minimums', he won the case and I believe that the decision also stipulated that you did not have to belong to the union to play in these halls ... that pretty much stripped the musicians union's power as far as catering halls and restaurants was concerned ...

If you want to take a look at why the middle class has been taking it on the chin since the 80's, while upper management has been raking it in, you only have to look to how unions in general have been stripped of their power.

One of my finest moments was when I threw the local rep off the front steps o the Hotel I was playing when he threatened to stop bread and other supplies from being delivered by union drivers.

Never saw the guy again. I had gone to the union headquarters every year after sending in my check for renewal months before.
I told the Union president, along with the treasurer that I had better get my card in the mail after this last trip or they could kiss my membership goodby.

Year after year, I got a gig that required membership, and i had to chase down the dudes who ran the silly thing for the update on the card. They usually got the old card, crossed out the date and wrote in a new one.

No hard feelings, though. I had dinner with ED, the former union rep a week or so ago. Pretty good trombone player, actually.

R.