American Federation of Musicians Demonstrate at Warner Bros.
December 15, 2015 | 03:09PM PT
More than 50 members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 and supporters have demonstrated against Warner Bros. allowing a non-union scoring session on the Burbank lot.
The demonstrators leafletted Tuesday near the studio in objection to Warner Bros. — which is a signatory to the AFM contract — permitting a session by Cinema Scoring, which is in a dispute with the union.
“By enabling non-union scoring sessions on their lot – whether through rental of its facilities or otherwise – Warner Bros. is creating a safe haven for the exploitation of musicians, where they are denied fair industry-standard wages, conditions of employment, and benefits afforded to all other crew on the very same stage who are protected by a union contract,” said AFM Local 47 president John Acosta.
“Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the last remaining signatories to the AFM Theatrical Agreement and it adheres to that agreement,” he said. “It is disappointing that the AFM is implying that Warner Bros. Pictures is anything but honorable with respect to its dealings with the union.”
The musicians union said it discovered evidence of a non-union, or “dark,” scoring session conducted in November at Warner Bros. by Cinema Scoring. In June, at the request of the union, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor authorized strike sanction against three music employers – Cinema Scoring, Collective Media Guild, and Peter Rotter Music Services – based on their actual and/or potential engagement of musicians in non-union recording sessions.
The strike sanction calls for all AFL-CIO affiliated labor unions to not cross the picket line if and when these employers call a non-union engagement.
“By allowing sub-standard working conditions on your scoring stages, it undermines the future careers of the next generation of professional musicians,” Nazarian wrote. “Further, it negatively impacts entire communities by devaluating the livelihoods of musicians who contribute to the economic and educational well-being of our neighborhood.”