Musician's union membership...worth it or not?

[crazy fingers]

Hey all, just a question for those in the know re musician's unions...

Mrs crazy fingers has been stressing as of late due to us going from a 2 income household to a single income household
due to the addition of another crazy finger and we have been brainstorming to see if we can score some more green to
feed the kitty.

As that I don't have a regular gig that I can count on for some extra scratch, would joining my local (2-197) union be
worth my while or should I just hit the bricks on my own? Any + or - on the subject would be most appreciated.

[Wilko]

Hopefully, joining a union is more than just "for money"

It's an ethical stance. If you read the union's mission statement, you may find that you won't agree at all with their stance. Also, your normal gigs will likely be completely in opposition to the position of the unions.

[Cogs]

I don't know about the situaton in your state, but the musicians' union in the NW is a joke.

[pc]

Kind of a joke here too. Ideally the notion is wonderful--every musician in town should join, and thus be protected by the rules for fair wages. No member musician would take the gig for less money, thus insuring the client club/bar/event/studio must pay appropriately for our talents.

Truth is, if I joined the union here (and followed their rules) I'd be making way less money than I am now at gigging. Why? Because the standard rate they require for gigs and for studio dates is quite generous. So much so that most bands I sub with wouldn't be able to afford it.

With my own band (forgetting for a moment that just playing in a band with non-members is kind of frowned upon), I'd have to make a higher cut than the others, which wouldn't fly either of course. Unless I did all weddings and corporate gigs, I just wouldn't get to play that often.

For me, it's better to play more often for a bit less money.

Where this is supposed to equal out is that with my name on their roster, when people call the union and say they need an R&B/Funk/Jazz/whatever guitarist, the union would act as my booking agent in a way and at least put me on the list of people to call.

The reality in my city (and thus why it's a joke) is that nobody calls the union anymore to request bands or individual musicians, because the Interweb has replaced that resource.

[crazy fingers]

Thanks for the info guys....excatly what I needed.

[chuckocaster]

i never joined the sound union cause i didn't like their work ethic. maybe the player's union is different. but i'll tell ya, taking a break every 2 hours got extraneous, and the bitching over the free lunch was pretty cumbersome. YMMV. best of luck though man!

[Kap'n]

I've heard there's a union, but I haven't seen any evidence of it since I moved here, in the past dozen years or so.