Mohawk Valley Musicians' Association LOCAL 51
	Send E-mail to: local51@afm.org
	Membership Information
	Joining Local 51
	Welcome to Local 51 "Mohawk Valley Musicians' Association"! We are happy you have come this far in establishing a professional affiliation in the world of musical performance. Whether you are interested in the benefits of union membership, making your performance more rewarding, or simply in joining the largest association of professional musicians in the country, we look forward to working with and for you.
	You can call our Executive Secretary's office at 315-733-1065 to begin the application process.
	Initiation Fees
	To join Local 51 there is a one time initiation fee of $90.00 plus a prorated Membership Dues payment. $65.00 of the initiation fee is forwarded to the American Federation of Musicians and the remaining $25.00, plus the prorated Membership Dues, remains with Local 51.
	Membership Dues
	Regular Membership dues is $140.00 per year payable in one lump sum. Quarterly-annual installment payments are provided for members in distress upon approval of the Executive Board and/or the Executive Secretary after consultation with the President. Quarterly payments are $40.00 per quarter.  Our dues year is from Dec. 1st thru Nov. 30th of the following year. Members failing to remit their dues are expelled on the 31st day after the date on which their dues was due, and are reported as such to the Federation office. A delinquent/expelled member may reistate by paying a late penalty of $5.00 per month up to a maximum of $35.00 in addition to any back dues owed plus any work dues, fees and assessments. After one year he/she must join as a new member.
	Upon receipt of a full year's Membership Dues a Membership Card will be issued to the member. For any payments made for less than the dues year, only an official receipt will be issued.
	Life Membership and Reduced Annual Dues
	A member who has attained 35 consecutive years as a Federation member and has attained the age of 65 may apply for and receive the status of Life Member. Life Members pay dues at the reduced rate of $99.00 per year.
	Work Dues
	All Federation members are obligated, under Federation By-law Article 8, Section 8(d)(i), to pay work dues for all engagements performed within Local 51's jurisdiction. Misc- ellaneous/casual engagements are calculated at 3% of scale wages earned. MPTF is calculated at 5% of scale wages earned.
	In accordance with Federation By-law Article 8, Section 8(d)(ii), engagements booked as a result of our Referral Service program is calculated at 10% of scale wages earned.
	Scale wages are the minimum wages as set by the voting membership during meetings called for that specific purpose. Local 51 does not prevent musicians from negotiating wages which are greater thanthe minimum scale.
	Every Local in the American Federation of Musicians sets its own Annual Membership and Work Dues rates. Members of Local 51 who perform outside the local's jurisdiction, may be subject to a Work Dues payment to the Local whose jurisdiction in which they perform. Those members are obligated by the Constitution of the American Federation of Musicians to pay any such bill they may receive from another local or be subject to desciplinary action from the Federation.
	Resignation
	A member wishing to resign "in good standing" must submit the request in writing to the Executive Secretary, prior to the expiration of the current annual dues year for which he/she has made payment. Members may wish to do this because they are leaving the jurisdiction of Local 51 and will no longer be working and/or performing competitive engagements in Local 51's jurisdiction. A musician will lose his/her status of "resignation in good standing" is he/she continues to reside in Local 51's jurisdiction and accepts paid engagements without re- joining the Local.
	By resigning "in good standing", the former member may reinstate membership within four years from the date of resignation by paying a re-entry fee of $35.00 and the current years pro-rated dues. After four years the former member must join as a new member and pay both Federation and Local initiation Fees in effect at the time of re-entry.