Well, once again, I have to say my experiences have been pretty positive overall.
First let me say that working as a musician in Staten Island NY was probably not the same as working in some other places ... We were pretty isolated - the bridge from Brooklyn to SI had not been built yet - and access to SI was through 3 bridges to New Jersey and the SI and Brooklyn ferries ...
We had our own union delegate - who happened to know my father pretty well ... As a band we never gave him any trouble - except for a couple of occasions when we didn't have the right minimum number of musicians on the gig, and he really liked our band ... he even hired us for his daughter's wedding ... He also would hire us to open for an annual festival he helped run, and on occasion gave us a union paid gig ... He used to run concerts in the park during the summer and had a sound truck fully wired with mixers, mics, amps, and speaker systems, which he let us use a few times that we had big outdoor gigs ...
One year we were hired by a catering hall for a NYE gig ... we were the 'second' band and so we did not have to have the minimum number of guys for the room as long as the 'first' band did ... we played the gig and at the end of the four hours the owner of the hall sent the other band home and told us to continue playing ... we explained that we didn't have the right minimum, and the owner says "don't worry, everything's legit" , so we played for another 2 hours ... next day I get a call at 8AM, from the delegate asking "Tony, what happened last night?" ... I told him, and he said he would get back to me ... I never heard anything else ... I guess the owner was higher up the mob chain than the delegate ...
I believe it was the mid to late 70's when a band leader named Bob Chevy - who was the 'house band' for many NY catering halls, brought a suit against the union regarding the minimum number of musicians in a room ... he won the case and the court also said the union could not prevent non-union musicians from working ... that started the loss of union power relative to those of us who played primarily 'one-nighters' ...

The poster is from the festival circa 1978

My experiences with unions were usually not music related, though they told me that I would have more jobs if I joined the union. I declined and had all the jobs I could handle.

Once, while trying to unload a demo booth in New York's Jacob Javits Center, when I backed up my van to the loading dock and began to unload, a burly guy came up to me and said that no one but a union loader could place the gear on the loading dock and it would cost me $50 bucks to have him do it. I shelled out the money, he gave me a receipt and allowed me to wheel the cartload of gear into the center and then had to pay another $50 to have the booth set up. I looked around for an electrical outlet, to run the equipment, and the closest one was about 100 feet away. Though I had an extension cord long enough to reach it, I was told that only a union electrician was allowed to plug it in and the fee was, you guessed it, another $50. Then, when I went back to park the van, well, that was $50 a day and no guarantees that you would even see it again - no security on the parking lot. I didn't care, it was a rental van that the company rented just for this job. I took the Amtrak back to Baltimore that night and was glad to be out of NYC, and away from the damned unions.

My dad was a Teamster Union member for more than 40 years, paid a lot in dues, and they only helped him when a trucking company denied him employment due to his age, which at the time was 60. He had lost his previous truck driving job after 35 years when the company moved to another state. A union leader went to the place that denied him employment and told the company that if they didn't hire him that day, they would have a picket line around the entire building by tomorrow morning. My dad was hired that night, and worked there for the next 10 years as a yard jockey. For those that don't know what a yard jockey is, it is the person that backs the big rig trailers to the loading dock of a warehouse, often just 6 inches apart. There are very few drivers that can actually do this.

All the best,

Gary

Tony,
All my dealing with the local have been positive also. I met many great musicians and entertainers during my association with the union.

As a keyboard player I had plenty of jobs from the local musicians. If you needed a musician you just looked in the local's directory which was listed by intrument and phone number. Had I not made these contacts my musical career would have ended 50 years ago.

I was paid well. got cartage and mileage for the gigs thanks to local.

I made many lifelong friends that I still keep in contact with.

Some of the naysayers probably never went to a meeting, made contacts and or even knew where the local office was. You're not going to get gigs if people don't know you.

Every business has it's people with underhanded ways, but don't paint every local with the same brush.

My 2 cents

Jerryghr

I'm only talking about the local in Shreveport. It was not good for me. If you were a symphony musician or a buddy of the "board", it was different. I was new in town and really not welcome.
I went to every meeting while I was a member and knew many of the members. The president was a trumpet player with the symphony, and he thought I was putting other members out of work because I worked as a single.
Shouldn't quit a year sooner.

I was a delegate to the AF of M convention in Shreveport late 70's early 80's. If I would have known you then I could have put in a good word for you.😁

Jerryghr

Thanks. I got here in 1978 and was a member for about a year. They were always nice and friendly and smiley, but not there when I needed them, and they never found any work for me. I can even remember them telling me they were not a booking agency. But they sure got jobs for their buddies!

. I guess the owner was higher up the mob chain than the delegate

Love it ! Statan Island, 70's it all fits. Wonder if its changed much?
Now its "Do you have Liability Insurance like out House bands do "??

Gary
Good story. I had the same thing in AC. A phone call saying I had to have a Union guy bring my equipment into the Casino. I explained I had done it myself numerous times before so help is not needed. Later found out my employer, NJ Relators Assoc. had paid it for years without meknowing PLUS a fee for electricity. Gotta love robbery without a gun.

My last experience with a Union is when I played a night with the Louisiana Hayride Band at the famed Municipal Auditorium. It wasn't the musicians union though. When I pulled up and started unloading a guy came up and said "I have to take that in for you". I said fine. Then when he got it inside I started to plug it in and another guy said "I have to plug it in for you." I said fine. No charge that I know of. At the end of the night, they were all gone--had to unplug that baby and carry it out myself.
It was for the Teen-age Miss American pageant so I'm sure SOMEBODY paid.

Meetings, directory ??? We were never told about those things. We were young and stupid and it could of been a positive experience but I think the small community of in the know boys wanted to keep it close to the vest.
A friend of mine who played drums with me from time to time did get calls to work at the Garden State Arts Center in NJ for shows that came in. He was a Percussionist and could read so he was in demand. He told me he couldn't commit to me full time because once you said no to the agent you were on the bottom of the list.