Canadian
Conference History
The American
Federation of Musicians (AFM) was founded in 1896. Owen Miller,
the first President of the AFM stated: "The only object of the AFM is
to bring order out of chaos and to harmonize and bring together all
the professional musicians of the country into one United Progressive
Body." Today, the Mission of the AFM states in part:
We are the
American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, professional
musicians united through our Locals so that:
- We can live and work in dignity;
- Our work will be fulfilling and compensated fairly;
- We will have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect us;
- We will have the opportunity to develop our talents and skills;
- Our collective voice and power will be realized in a democratic
and progressive union;
- We can oppose the forces of exploitation through our union solidarity.
The international
character of the union has also undergone change during the past hundred
years. As early as 1897, the AFM invited the Montreal Musicians' Protective
Union and the Toronto Orchestral Association to join the union. Montreal
accepted immediately and was designated as Local 62 (although it only
survived a few years and was rechartered as Local 406 in 1905). Toronto
joined in 1901.
By 1900 the union
changed its name to the American Federation of Musicians of the United
States and Canada and was actively organizing on both sides of the border.
In 1937 a position was created to provide for an initial level of Canadian
representation, as Walter Murdoch was elected International Executive
Officer for Canada. However, as the music industry changed, becoming
less a local business and more a national and international industry,
the union faced two challenges. First, the laws that govern union activities
in each country are fundamentally different in certain areas. Second,
the Canadian members sought ways to preserve their own identity.
With the election
of J. Alan Wood in 1965, that position evolved into the office of AFM
Vice President from Canada. The Organization
of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) was formed in 1975. In 1979,
after nearly 75 years of part-time representation, the AFM Convention
designated that the Vice President from Canada would become a full-time
officer supervising a full-time Canadian Office. During the 1980s, under
the leadership of J. Alan Wood and with the election of Ray Petch in
1991, David Jandrisch in 1997, and Bobby Herriot in 2003, the Canadian
Conference continued to achieved greater autonomy over solely Canadian
matters.
Bill
Skolnik, the current AFM Vice President from Canada was elected
to that position in 2007. He had previously served as the Executive
Director of Local 149, Toronto, Ontario. The Canadian Conference consists
of Locals of the AFM located
anywhere in Canada. In addition, the Conference recognizes representatives
of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) as official
Delegates.
The Canadian Conference's
object is to "unite the Locals within Canada to promote the interests
of the members thereof, within the framework of the AFM." Canadian
Locals, and OCSM
each elect delegates to represent their member's best interests at the
annual convention. It provides an opportunity to discuss issues and
problems that affect the working lives of all Canadian Musicians. The
delegates are charged with the responsibility of finding solutions to
the issues presented and helping to affect positive change by making
recommendations to the Canadian
Office or by submitting resolutions or recommendations to the bi-annual
AFM International Convention.
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CANADIAN
CONFERENCE OF MUSICIANS
|
105
Wellington Street
Brantford, Ontario, Canada N3T 2M1
www.afmcc.org |
Phone:
519.752.7973
Fax: 519.752.7973
info@afmcc.org
|
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