As reported last week, nine members of the board of Vancouver Musicians’ Association Local 145 have been battling the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), over punitive fines imposed by International Executive Board.
The musicians were fined a total of nearly $500, 000 and a lifetime expulsion for bylaw infractions and not living up to their oath of office.
In a ruling announced today, Justice Carol Ross stated, “Considering all of the factors, the balance of convenience favours the applicants and it’s just and equitable to grant the relief.”
Her reasoning was that by allowing the fines to be imposed before a final ruling has been reached, the ex-board members would be irreparably harmed.
The spat originally occurred when the 145 local opened the door to allow Vancouver’s musicians to better capitalise on the booming Vancouver film industry. With over 246 motion picture projects and $1.02 billion dollars worth of film production in the city (stats. per 2010), musicians felt that they were being unfairly cut out from the lucrative industry.
Vancouver musician Ed Henderson stated “Film is a serious industry in BC […] yet local musicians, prior to the trusteeship, accounted for less than 2 cents of every $1,000.00 spent on film in BC. With such wonderful musical talent in BC does this make any sense? Not to me but, the AFM told us they’d rather we worked non-union – to quote their lawyer speaking last month in the BC Supreme Court.”
The musicians from Local 145 signed a Vancouver Film Orchestra agreement, headed by Music Director Hal Beckett, which gave film producers a special rate for hiring B.C. musicians.
The New York City based AFM countered by imposing trusteeship on the local, and imposed $50 thousand dollar fines on the board members.
The local then responded by grieving the issue to the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) and later issuing a petition to the B.C. Supreme Court, asking them to consider if the bylaw is enforceable.
The local lost its grievance when the B.C. Labour Relations Board sided with the AMF, leaving the pending B.C. Supreme Court decision the only thing standing between the ex-board members and the parent unions punitive fines and lifetime banishment.
The outcome of the ruling will have a huge impact on music locals not only in Vancouver, but also across Canada. In particular Toronto, which also enjoys a film industry similar in size to Vancouver’s. Union musicians on both sides of the border will want to watch this very closely.
Michael Vincent
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