Official Publication of the American Guild of Musical Artists A Branch of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America Affiliated with the AFL-CIO Fall 200 I Vo /ull/(' !Jr;, NUII/I"'I I AGMA MEMBERS OFFER HELP AND SOLACE IN AFTERMATH OF WTC TRAGEDY IN THIS By AlAN S. GORDON, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ISSUE When a traumatic the brave men and women who died event that shocks assisting victims of the World Trade Important Message From our consciousness Center tragedy and to offer some meas­ The President ure of care for the survivors. occurs, as human 2 beings we all want to 'do something' to The AGMA-represented bargaining unit Giuliani Elected to re-establish our at the Met. .. the chorus, the dancers, the Membership directing staff, the members of the pro­ connection with 3 others. After the duction team ... selflessly and unani­ tragedy of mously agreed to donate their services, Age Discrimination September 11th, with all revenue and matching corporate 4 AGMA members funds being donated to the relief effort, across the country spontaneously and Likewise, our Met solo artists distin­ Board of Governors guished themselves through their will­ selflessly joined in the outpouring of Election Results emotional and financial support for the ingness to share the beauty of their victims and their families. music to help begin the healing process, 6 Domestic Partner Health AGMA members who work at the We gratefully acknowledge those Metropolitan Opera made an unprece­ soloists who performed in the benefit: Coverage dented and generous donation of their Roberto Aronica, Antonio Barasorda, 13 services to perform in the Met's special Daniela Barceliona, Jane Bunnell, Verdi Gala Benefit Performance to Frederick Burchinal, Francisco New West Coast Executive Casanova, Paul Charles Clarke, Philip assist the rescue workers and the relief 13 efforts in this time of great national cri­ Creech, Larissa Diadkova, Placido sis. When General Manager Volpe Domingo, Elena Evseeva, Bernard Fitch, asked for AGMA's help in this gesture, Jill Grove, Franz Grundheber, Hei­ AGMA members were immediately Kyung Hong, Sergei Koptchak, Robert there to offer their full support to honor Continued on Page 3 WHAT'S NEW FOR YOU: • SAFETY INFORMATION FOR DELEGATES • PLAN B DEADLINE ExTENDED • NEW RULES FOR HONORABLE WITHDRAWALS AND SUSPENSION • ONLY ARTISTS IN GOOD STANDING MAY • HOniNE NOW ACCESSIBLE BY TOLL-FREE • AGMAz,NE'S NEW COLOR!! PERFORM NUMBER Pa g e 2 AGMAZINE Fall 200 I The American Guild of Musical Artists 1727 Broadway (at 55th Street) American Guild of Musical New York, New York 10019-5284 (212 ) 265-3687 Fax (212) 262-9088 www.MusicaIArtists.org From the Lawrence Tibbett, Founding President Jascha Heifetz, Founding Vice-President President Linda Mays, President Donna Marie Covert, 1st Vice-President James Odom, 2nd Vice-President Linda Mays John Coleman, 3rd Vice-President Colby Roberts, 4th Vice-President Joseph Evans, 5th Vice-President Lynn Lundgren, Treasurer Candace Itow, Recording Secretary Alan S, Gordon, National Executive Director The recent election has provided they participate? Are you satisfied? At AGMA with exciting new talent and present are you represented best by General Counsel Bruce Simon renewed commitment from experi­ (a) the Area in which you reside, (b) Cohen, Weiss, & Simon enced leadership. The catch-22 in our your category of employment (singer, 330 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036 organization is that those who work dancer, staging personnel), (c) the full-time in the field pay the highest company in which you work? When Chicago Counsel Barbara J. Hillman Cornfield and Feldman percentage of dues, need the most the Board of Governors' size is 25 East Washington St. service, but have the least amount of reduced, how do you hope it will affect Suite 1400 Chicago , Il 60602 flexible time to devote to Board of you and how do you fear it will affect (312) 922-2800 Governors' service. you? When the Board of Governors' size is reduced , these questions will be Employment Counsel Anne Vladeck Vladeck, Waldman, Elias In our current constitutional structure, even more important than ever. & Englehardt, P.C. the Board size is determined by a rep­ 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036 resentational numeric formula, which Since last spring, Alan Gordon and I corresponds to the number of AGMA have been working with a core group Special Counsel Gail lopez-Henriquez Freedman & l orry members paid in full on July 31st of of soloists to gather confidential data 400 Market Street each year. Membership tracking and about age and weight discrimination to Philadelphia, PA 19106 dues collection have become more determine the kind of battle we can Area Representatives sophisticated, thereby increasing the launch against illegal employment dis­ number of Board seats to over 200. By crimination with regard to hiring, rehir­ New Orleans Mary Bertucci 6216 Marigny Street the next election we plan to amend our ing , and "retiring. " (Read Alan New Orleans, LA 70122 Constitution to construct a more appro­ Gordon's Classical Singer "Musetta" (504 ) 861 -8102 priate number of Board of Governors article reprinted in this issue of Northwest Carolyn C. Carpp seats. At this moment, our Board of AGMAzine.) 14401 NE 30th Place Governors is larger than those of any Apt. # 248 Bellevue, WA 98007 other union or any major corporation. An initiative to provide vocal soloists (425) 86 1-9949 The AGMA Board is quickly approach­ with delegate/steward representation Pittsburgh Fran k Kerin ing the size of the United States on-site will soon be tested at two major 233 Thompson Run Road Congress. opera companies. We are responding Pittsburgh, PA 15235 (412) 798-0550 to the distressing reality that our We will be preparing a referendum bal­ soloists, in general, feel too vulnerable San Francisco Nora Heiber lot outlining a new representational for­ to serve as delegates and/or to object (415) 759-7548 mula, with a method and time frame for to contract infractions when they occur. Washington, D,C. Eleni Kallas completing the process. The general Our hope is that eventually soloists will 16600 Shea l ane Gaithersburg, MD 20877 premise is that a smaller Board of feel enough unity and confidence to (301 ) 869-8266 Governors will become a more effi­ elect and support a representative cient, cohesive mechanism for AGMA from within their own ranks, either per governance while remaining a demo­ production or per season. cratic (philosophically, not politically) Editor: Gretchen l ees entity. We are also gathering specific data MMRC liaison: Karen Grahn from soloists about their Health Plan Think carefully about your current rep­ and Retirement priorities in order to resentatives. Do you know them? Do improve and/or change benefits. AGMAZINE Fall 200 I Pa g e 3 Broken contracts are a big issue, both for members and for Alan Gordon immediately contacted the directors of our their employers. There are sanctions in place for members New York City performing venues to assess the safety of who break an AGMA contract. If your contract is broken by our members and is working to assure that appropriate management (dismissal, repertoire change, etc.) we can emergency procedures are in place and are made available help you, but only if you tell us that you need assistance. to our members. There are detailed guidelines for conduct­ ing an analysis of emergency plans and provisions at your Soloist Board member David Cangelosi is spearheading company elsewhere in this issue. efforts to put together a Midwest Area Conference to be held in Chicago in the summer of 2002. The conference will Members of the Executive Council are available on very coincide with a meeting of the Executive Council. Watch short notice (overnight) to act on emergency benefit con­ for more details such as dates, fees, expenses, etc. Bravo, tract waivers. We stand ready to help in any other emer­ David. gency situation. Thank you to all who have expressed your concern for the The AGMA (staff and member) spirit of compassion in this well-being of our staff, leaders, and members nationwide, current crisis is a source of tremendous pride. but especially in the Washington-Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and New York City areas. To date we are not aware of any Please let us know when and where you perform in benefits AGMA casualties directly related to the Pentagon and related to this national crisis. Your generosity and solidarity World Trade Center attacks. should be celebrated. MAYOR GIULIANI ELECTEDTO HONORARY MEMBERSHIP IN AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL A RTISTS, AFL-CIO When the curtain went up on the Metropolitan Opera's September 22nd World Trade Center Benefit Performance, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani stood center stage with Met General Manager Joseph Volpe and the eighty men and women who comprise the AGMA-represented Metropolitan Opera Chorus. Together, they sang the Star Spangled Banner to a sold-out audience of 4000, with all of the evening's proceeds going to benefit the survivors of the city's uniformed services who perished while helping others at the Trade Center. Honoring his role in the performance and his extraordinary leadership follow­ ing the World Trade center tragedy, the Board of Governors of the American Guild of Musical Artists, at its meeting of September 24, voted to elect Mayor Giuliani as an honorary member of AGMA. The Met also donated what would AGMA President Linda Mays with New York Mayor have been his per-performance fee to the WTC Relief Fund . Rudy Giuliani. Relief Effort (continued from page 1) and our members at the Los Angeles Master Chorale have Lloyd, Aprile Millo, Mark Oswald, Paul Plishka, Rodion donated their services for a free musical offering in the Los Pogossov, Nikolai Putilin, Julien Robbins, Mark Schowalter, Angeles Public Library.