Local 433 Secretary-Treasurer Speaks At City Hall!
Posted Date: March 31 2023
Austin Federation of Musicians Secretary-Treasurer, Blair Robbins, spoke on behalf of the
Local 433 Officer Team, including themselves, President Aaron Lack, and Vice President
Russell K. Shores, on the topic of Fair Pay at SXSW (South By South West) Music Festival.
The City Of Austin Parks and Recreation Board is contemplating the denial of future park use
and fee waivers for The Festival if musicians are not paid fairly. Musicians know that Fair Pay
can only be achieved by Collective Bargaining between The Festival and Musicians. A fair
contract will also set a regular interval for updates to the agreement so that the current
stagnation will be avoided in the future.
The full March 27th, 2023 meeting can be viewed here: https://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/boards_commissions/meetings/39_1.htm
Secretary-Treasurer Robbins comment can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ydojCkImwo
Statement from Local 433 Officer Team:
To avoid a continuation of the current conditions, where an arbitrarily set rate has become stagnant over years of neglect, Fair Pay must be negotiated between the employer and musicians using the U.S. Labor standard of Collective Bargaining. This will ensure that wages and working conditions are updated at regular intervals in a democratic and professional manner and that SXSW can achieve its goal of “creating professional opportunities for artists.”
- AFM Local 433 Officer Team:
Aaron Lack, President; Russell K. Shores, Vice President; Blair Robbins, Secretary-Treasurer
By President Aaron Lack
