Dear RMA Members,

We offer you, your families and friends, very best wishes as you celebrate Labor Day. We hope it is a great holiday for all. This is a great time to reflect on the blessings that courageous men and women throughout the Labor Movement have brought both to us as individuals and to our communities. We owe them so very much, even as those struggles for social justice and worker rights continue.

In more recent times, some aspects of the Labor Movement have turned inward to bring reform not only to employer practice, but to union practice as well.

Our union, the American Federation of Musicians, continues to struggle with issues of Union Democracy and respectful treatment of its members.

An excellent article describing the current state of AFM affairs, complete with historical background, has been posted at http://www.afm143.org/

The author is Edward Shamgochian. He is the President of AFM Local 143, which is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mr. Shamgochian has been an AFM member for more than 60 years. His years of experience and perspective on how the AFM treats all of us makes for compelling reading.
Stay tuned for more…