FAQs

Who do I contact with questions about my AFM tour?

If you are working under a union contract, then your wages and working conditions are governed by the American Federation of Musicians Pamphlet B & Short Engagement Touring Theatrical Musicals Agreement. The 2016 - 2020 Pamphlet B agreement is posted on the afm.org website for download: Theater - American Federation of Musicians. The newest MOA from August 2023 has not been posted yet, but you may be able to obtain a copy by contacting the AFM Director of Touring.

For questions about your contract, please contact:
George Fiddler
AFM Director of Touring, Theater, and Immigration Services
TOLL FREE 1-800-762-3444 x231
DIRECT 917-229-0231
gfiddler@afm.org

What’s the difference between SET and full production tours?

SHORT ENGAGEMENT TOURS or “SET” are tours that sit down in a city for one week or less for the majority of their itinerary (some may perform for multiple weeks in larger cities). The pay and working conditions of these tours has historically been lower than the Full Production contract. The main selling point of SETA is the potential to make “overages” which can sometimes offset the lower wage scale. Overages are in effect a profit-sharing gamble on the part of the producer. However, overages are not guaranteed. While weekly overages average at around $500/wk, some tours like The Prom received overages averaging $12/wk, while tours like Beetlejuice and Mamma Mia received up to $1200+/wk. It’s a gamble. If you are willing to take the risk, the payoff potential can make a SET tour very lucrative. But if you are not prepared to live on SET wages without overages (the current base side musician pay is $1,038.23/wk), consider carefully before signing on the dotted line. Additionally, the travel itinerary for many short engagement tours can be grueling. Rehearsals, late-night travel, and quick turnarounds can make this lifestyle tiring for the body and soul. However, the new MOA won several gains for the SET contract with increased wages of 3.5% in the 1st year (or roughly the cost of a 2nd piece of luggage), pension on overages, increased sick days, and more.

FULL PRODUCTION tours receive higher weekly wages than SET, but without the opportunity to receive overages. These tours sit down in cities for multiple weeks, which generally provides for better working conditions. However, due to bargaining concessions, SET working conditions have now been migrated into Full Production terms. For example, this means that companies are now allowed to schedule 32 performances in a 4-week period, allowing productions to perform back-to-back 9-show weeks (there is no premium for the 9th show), a working condition that was previously prohibited in the Full Production agreement. Another example is that full production tours are now allowed to delay their curtain for up to 1-hour without prior notice, for any reason, and without paying overtime compensation. Combined with changes to housing and per diem rules in parity with Equity, Full Production travelers are feeling very real differences in their working conditions under the 2023 MOA.

How do overage payments work on a SET Tour?

Under the AFM Short Engagement Tour Agreement (SET), touring chairholders receive an overage payment within 4-weeks of completing performances in any venue. Overages amount to “profit-sharing” and are dependent upon the agreement between the producer and the presenter, and also on how well the show sells in a particular theatre venue. To clarify, the Aug 2023 Pamphlet B Agreement MOA Rule 9 reads: “No later than four weeks after each engagement, Employer will provide an overage statement to Musicians and the AFM that includes the production name, the document preparer’s name and title, the date prepared, the engagement city, the dates of the engagement, and the following figures included in any overage calculation: (i) gross weekly box office receipts; (ii) box office deductions; (iii) net adjusted gross weekly box office receipts; (iv) guarantee and local presenter expenses; (v) remaining monies; (vi) producer share; (vii) overage percentage; and (viii) overage amount payable per company member, along with the clarification that “Producer Share x Overage Percentage = Amount Payable.”

Who gets the overages when the chairholder is on vacation or Rule 24 Layoff?

When a SET chairholder takes a vacation and is covered by a local musician who works under their own local agreement, no one receives an overage payment. This is because local musicians do not have overage payments negotiated into their local contracts. However, if the vacation is covered by a substitute that works under the Pamphlet B/SET agreement, then the substitute receives the overage payment. In the past, some SET chairholders have insisted on continuing to collect their overage payment and then pay their substitute out-of-pocket for the earned overages at a later time. This has never been an appropriate method, as it affects your income taxes. But it is even more crucial now that the new MOA achieved pension payments on overages up to $1,000 above the musician’s applicable minimum weekly salary. These pension contributions can be substantial, and would not be reassigned if the chairholder collected the overage with the intention of forwarding the payout to their substitute at a later time.

Recently it has been suggested that this rule needs to be revisited in the Feb.2027 negotiations with the goal of securing overage payments for SET chairholders during Rule 24 layoff, rather than allowing the production to pocket the money. The Touring Theatre Committee will continue to follow up on this issue with the aim of continuing to improve working conditions and wages for our SET musicians.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What does a tour steward do?

As new AFM tours open this fall, it’s important to keep in mind that Pamphlet B/SET touring bands are required to elect a Tour (or “Shop”) Steward within 90 days of opening. This is usually done by holding an election and reporting the results (steward or co-stewards) to George Fiddler, AFM Director of Touring. However, if no one steps forward the Director of Touring may appoint someone to serve in this important role. The steward serves as the union's eyes and ears on the job site, reporting any issues in the workplace. Stewards are communicators, keeping fellow workers informed of their rights and responsibilities as union members.

As a steward, it is a good policy to encourage your band members to direct questions to you before approaching company management themselves. There are several reasons for this. Maintaining a positive relationship with your management team is imperative for resolving issues that arise while out on the road. Company managers appreciate having one designated point of contact to avoid having multiple band members bring the same question to them for resolution. Building a positive relationship with your company management team can help resolve issues more quickly and with a result that benefits the players. However, it may not always be necessary for stewards to approach company managers directly about all issues. In many cases, George Fiddler, Director of Touring, can offer support, guidance, and enforcement of contract terms on your behalf. If you have any questions about something that happens on your tour, please contact George at (917) 229-0231 or gfiddler@afm.org.

Do stewards get paid?

Although stewards are unpaid, they play an important role in representing their band members’ interests. The steward announces meetings and receives, investigates, and attempts the adjustment of grievances. For example, if your band runs into rehearsal or performance overtime, the steward might bring this to Company Management and/or report it to George Fiddler for resolution. Other examples of issues that band members might bring to their steward include travel rule violations, incorrect payouts for sick leave, issues with point-of-origin layoff travel, and equipment damaged during air travel, to name a few. It is the steward’s responsibility to act as a conduit for information and communication between AFM Leadership, Company Management, and your touring band members.

How do I know what to do as a steward?

In the past, stewards received training from the AFM Director of Organizing. Currently, there is no training scheduled. The TTC is here to support our touring stewards with peer-to-peer advice and shared experiences. Please consider attending our bi-monthly Zoom meetings and join our AFM Steward WhatsApp group for instant crowd-sourced support! EVENTS — TouringBroadwayMusicians.com

What are Weingarten Rights?

As an elected steward, you are protected against reprisals. It is a violation for an employer to unfairly give you a bad evaluation or deny you pay and promotion opportunities based on your performance as a steward. Additionally, all union members have the right to request union representation, known as your Weingarten Rights: Weingarten Rights | National Labor Relations Board (nlrb.gov). For example, if you are asked to meet one-on-one with management over a disciplinary matter, always request your Weingarten Rights and insist that George Fiddler join you on a conference call or bring a trusted colleague into the room with you to serve as a witness.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do I get “PD” or personal days?

Personal days or “PD” are not included in our AFM Pamphlet B/SET contract. While actors, crew, and company managers can take PD, musicians usually cannot take personal time off unless their company travels a musician swing to cover their book. For example, some tours carry a “non-playing” assistant conductor whose job is to conduct several times per week, run rehearsals, and cover keyboard parts in an emergency. In less common cases, productions have traveled a musician swing who covers multiple books (drums, guitar, bass), usually in instances when the musicians are on stage. In these instances, some players may have access to personal days, depending on their relationship with Company Management. If your tour does not provide coverage for your role, then PD probably isn’t an option for you.

Do I get sick leave on tour?

Yes, all touring musicians (SET & Full Production) can earn up to 6 sick “performances” throughout the tour year under the Aug. 2023 Pamphlet B MOA. Musicians accrue 1 sick day every 4 weeks, maxing out at a total of 6 per year. Specifically, MOA Rule 5 reads: “A musician shall earn one (1) performance of paid sick leave for every four (4) weeks of employment commencing with the first day of rehearsal with a cap of six (6) performances per tour year. Up to three (3) sick performances may be borrowed against future accruals in the tour year, as of the first day of employment during the rehearsal period. Up to three (3) performances of unused sick leave shall be carried over from one tour to the next, provided that no more than six (6) performances of sick leave may be used in any tour year. Any unused sick leave in excess of three (3) performances that cannot be carried over shall be paid at 50% of the Musician’s rate of pay.”

How do I take a sick day?

The first step is to contact your MD. As your direct supervisor, your MD will have an active role in arranging coverage for you, whether this means adding your part to a synthesizer or finding a local substitute for a last-minute emergency, like food poisoning or a car accident. Depending on your relationship with Company Management, you can let the MD communicate the issue to them on your behalf, or you may discuss the issue with your CM directly. This communication pathway may fluctuate depending on your situation, level of emergency, relationship with your supervisors, and the relationship between your MD and CM.

Do I need a doctor’s note?

Unlike the other unions, Musicians are NOT required to provide a doctor’s note to request a sick day. Some Company Managers may still request a note, but Musicians are under no obligation to provide one. However, getting a doctor’s note may make your sick day requests flow more smoothly, as AFM tours are still very much the “Wild West.” Sick day requests are handled differently on every tour, often depending on the Musician’s relationship with Company Management. Other factors that influence sick day requests may include how many sick days you and other band members have already taken, accessibility of local coverage, if there is already a trained substitute waiting in the wings in NYC, whether your role is onstage/memorized, and how easily your part might be added to the synth book or covered by other players. (Receiving payment for covering a part is another discussion topic.)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________