Pictured above: Entertainment union leaders share a moment of solidarity with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. From left: SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local Executive Director Serena Kung, AFM Local 47 President Stephanie O'Keefe, Mayor Bass, IATSE Local 80 Delegate Thom Davis, SEIU California and SEIU-USWW President David Huerta, and IATSE Local 695 Assistant Business Representative and Delegate Heidi Nakamura. These local labor leaders also serve as Vice Presidents on the LA County Federation of Labor Executive Board; Davis serves as Chair.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attended a LA County Federation of Labor Executive Board Meeting June 12, where she met with local union leaders to discuss the current conditions in our city and her concerns for the safety of our immigrant population, and all the peoples of Los Angeles.

SEIU California and SEIU-USWW President David Huerta, who was recently arrested and violently detained by ICE while exercising his First Amendment right of peacefully bearing witness to an ICE raid at the Roybal Federal Building downtown, spoke about his recent experience and his concerns regarding the current militaristic occupation of Los Angeles.

"Serving as a Vice President on the LA County Federation of Labor Executive Board has allowed me to represent musicians and connect Local 47 with organized labor in Los Angeles in a way that has created stronger relationships and increased solidarity as we receive greater recognition," said AFM Local 47 President Stephanie O'Keefe.

AFM Local 47 is pleased to present a score study master class on Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho': the Orchestrations of Bernard Herrmann with Instructor Dr. Norman Ludwin, exclusively for AFM Local 47 members.

This interactive Zoom master class takes place on Thursday, July 17, 3-5 p.m. Zoom registration is available to AFM Local 47 members in good standing. Once your membership has been verified, you will receive the Zoom link.

AFM 47 reppin' at the NO KINGS protest in DTLA last Saturday! Pictured from left: Vice President Marc Sazer, Secretary/Treasurer Gail Kruvand, and members David Horne and Tamer Maamoun.

In light of the recent federal response to protests, the California Federation of Labor Unions has just released its Best Practices for Exercising Your First Amendment Rights at Protests. All members engaging in protests are encouraged to remain peaceful, nonviolent, and help each other stay safe.

LA PRIDE 2025 celebrated the power of unity and solidarity on Sunday, June 8. Local entertainment unions joined thousands in the streets of Hollywood to support of our LGBTQ+ community, and to raise awareness of our ongoing fight to protect and grow film and television jobs in our state through our Entertainment Union Coalition’s Keep California Rolling campaign.

AFM musicians marched and danced alongside our fellow EUC members Teamsters Local 399, Writers Guild of America West, SAG-AFTRA, Directors Guild of America, IATSE & LIUNA Local 724. Together, united, we will always have the power! 

Last week, our Entertainment Union Coalition Board traveled to Sacramento to meet with key legislators and the Governor regarding the next steps to move our trailer bill — that includes the expansion and modernization of our Film and Television Jobs Program — forward QUICKLY.

Governor Newsom continues to express his commitment to the $750 million he has proposed for the funding of the program as a key priority in this very difficult budget year. We now need to merge the money with the programmatic changes that are in AB 1138/SB 630, and do so quickly so that we have a competitive California Film and Television Jobs Program. Critical players on these FINAL decisions are Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire.  Both have been supportive of us, but they are faced with many difficult budget decisions and priorities in a year when CA is facing a significant deficit.

Read the full update here. 

An article published yesterday by The Wrap highlights the Hollywood job crisis as it relates to post-production. The piece features comments from AFM Local 47 President Stephanie O'Keefe on how scoring work is being impacted, and what musicians can expect if we seen an uplift to California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program.

“Like with the rest of post-production, it has become remarkably simple to record a score somewhere else,” O’Keefe said. “Ten years ago, 20 years ago, it required the composer and his crew and the director to fly to another location and record with a full orchestra. Now, with it no longer necessary to have an orchestra recording in the same room, productions have access to a global network of non-union, non-American musicians available for lower rates.”

That’s where the uplift bonus for film scoring comes in. AFM says that most California productions from major studios take advantage of the scoring uplift already, so it’s likely that more work for Californian AFM musicians will come from those productions lured back to the state with the increased tax credit cap — 4,400 jobs are expected to be brought back to the state as a result...

What AFM is hoping for is a further increase in the uplift bonus for independent productions at various budget levels, as the union found that the biggest opportunity for increased work for their members would come if productions from studios and producers that aren’t signatory to the union’s contracts get a bigger incentive to employ musicians in Hollywood and California at large. 

Read the full article here (subscription required).

The Keep LA Housed Coalition — in conjunction with the LA County Fed, labor unions, renters groups and housing groups — is currently working on the LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance (LARSO) initiative to improve rules for renters in the city of Los Angeles.

We are seeking AFM Local 47 members who may be interested in getting involved. As we move forward with plans to meet with legislators and launch a public campaign, our coalition is seeking testimonials from the rank-and-file who are in support of the initiative. To learn more and to get involved, please click here.

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