The Atlantic Federation of Musicians

The Atlantic Federation of Musicians, Local 571 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada was founded in 1938. It received its Charter the same year. There was a Local Musicians Union prior to 1938 that ended when the silent movies ended. When we had the silent movie theatres the musicians played in what was known as theOrchestra Pits. They were in front of the screen but in a pit below the stage. Hundreds of musicians were employed in all the different theatres. When the silent movies were replaced with movies with soundtracks it put hundreds of thousands of musicians out of work in Canada and the United States. As a result Halifax's first Local prior to 1938 was dissolved.

The first President of Local 571 in 1938 was Mr. Russell T. Ward.The President's to follow were Shanty McGuire, Frank Coolin, Donald B. Low, Ernie Hodge, Julius Silverman, Percy Belyaand and Jerry Naugler. Peter J. Power was elected in 1965 and became the first President of the Local to serve as a full time Officer until his retirement on January 1st, 1999.

Local 571 in 1938 was known as the Halifax Musicians Protective Association. Later it was known as the Halifax Musicians Association and then the Atlantic Federation of Musicians. At the time the Local's jurisdiction was the Province of Nova Scotia, the Province of Prince Edward Island, the Province of Newfoundland, and the Province of New Brunswick. Eventually, separate Locals developed in New Brunswick, in Cape Breton and in Newfoundland. In 1999, John J. Alphonse, a well known Band Leader in the jurisdiction of Local 571 became the President. He made the move back to full time musician in 2006. In 2007 a restructuring of the Local took place and the President's role was changed to allow for the creation of an Executive Director's position and this was combined with the role of Secretary-Treasurer. The new President appointed in 2007 was well known musician Ken MacKay. Eric McDow became the first Executive Director / Secretary Treasurer of AFM Local 571 that same year.

Musicians represent a respected group in the labor force today, but they did not always enjoy such status. For centuries musicians along with actors, magicians and other performers, in general were regarded as peculiar persons. Since then, however their prestige has risen. Musicians in 1938 were limited essentially to playing at dances, picnic's, serenade's, and funerals. It is still the case today where generally, musicians have no permanent employer but constantly are seeking new jobs. In other words they are self employed and independent contractors. In this respect the work of musicians is different from that of employees in other fields where the employer hires workers for relatively long periods of time and where the hours and conditions of work are more regular. There are some exceptions to this of course and an example of that is our Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia where all the musicians are employees and have a permanent employer.

In 1938 when the Local was first formed and for several years after that musicians had to audition before they completed their application to become a member and there were many who were not admitted as a result of failing their audition. Today that is not allowed. Only the employer can audition the musician or group of musicians. The AFM had been a highly complex organization, for it has had to deal with a diversity of employers. It has been required to negotiate with employers hiring musicians for operas, musical comedy's, burlesque's, motion pictures, symphony orchestras, vaudeville shows, concerts, dances, parades and receptions and of recent years technology has not made the life of a musician an easy one, not that it ever was.

Some Thoughts About Our Bylaws

The Musicians Union is, in fact, one of the purest forms of democracy in the modern world.The Officers in the Local do not make the rules. Their function is to enforce the Laws WE MAKE. Subject only to the Law of the land and the Bylaws of the Federation, we the members and we alone, make the rules and those that are bad we, and we alone, have the power to correct.

What are we really doing when we break a rule? We are not merely putting one over on some abstraction called ( the Union). We are undermining and, for that matter insulting our fellow players who have banned with us and made rules to the best of our collective knowledge and ability. We need to think about this when Union rules seem burdensome, or when a quick under-scale buckor a dark recording session is dangled before us. If our rules are wrong or our scales are wrong we change them collectively. Until we succeed, our attempts to be above ( or below ) the Law can only serve to unravel the very fabric of that Union mantel which is our surest protection in an environment seething with hostility toward our all too fragile profession.

The Atlantic Federation of Musicians is for the musician and his/her Union. By musician we mean every member of the Federation. We feel it is unjust to look upon the inactive musician as some sort of sub-class, set apart from the "luckier ones" who happen to be working at the moment. We believe inactive musicians are part and parcel of the whole AFM fabric. The "inactive status " is an affiliate.

Every two years, AFM delegates from across the continent come together to participate in the convention of one of the most democratic unions in the history of the labor movement. Some of these delegates work up to 18 hours a day on resolutions and recommendations that determine the structure and Bylaws of the AFM for years to come.


If you think we stand for the things you stand for, please contact our offices to find out how you can become a member of the Atlantic Federation of Musicians.