NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 29, 2010) - On Tuesday, April 27, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) President Thomas F. Lee joined AFTRA President Roberta Reardon, AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA), House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), House Representative Bob Brady (D-PA), and musician and composer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary at the Committee on Education and Labor Hearing Room to outline a new mobilization effort aimed at building support for workers' rights for performers.
The primary goal of the mobilization effort is to pass the Performance Rights Act, H.R. 848. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Chairman John Conyers and House Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), and endorsed by both the Obama and Bush administrations, would close the 80-year-old loophole that allows publicly owned radio stations to evade paying middle-income recording artists, session singers, and legacy artists for use of their work.
As part of the musicFIRST Coalition, the AFM is one of the leading organizations promoting the Performance Rights Act. "Musicians have the right to be compensated fairly for their work," states AFM International President Thomas F. Lee. "We must put an end to the corporate greed of the radio stations who deny them this right, in order to allow thousands of hard-working musicians to earn a fair wage, and provide for themselves and their families."
For more information on the Performance Rights Act, or to sign the petition, visit: www.musicfirstcoalition.org.
ABOUT THE AFM
Founded in 1896, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM), AFL-CIO, is the largest organization in the world dedicated to representing the interests of professional musicians. With more than 90,000 members, the AFM represents all types of professional musicians, including those who record music for sound recordings, film scores, videogames, radio, television and commercial announcements, as well as perform music of every genre in every sort of venue from small jazz clubs to symphony orchestra halls to major stadiums. Whether negotiating fair agreements, protecting ownership of recorded music, securing benefits such as health care and pension, or lobbying legislators, the AFM is committed to raising industry standards and placing the professional musician in the foreground of the cultural landscape.
For more information, contact the main number at (212) 869-1330 or visit the Web site at www.afm.org.
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