http://theomniscientmussel.com/2009/05/have-musicians-wages-gotten-better-or-worse/ Classical Music & Culture Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:33:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://theomniscientmussel.com/2009/05/have-musicians-wages-gotten-better-or-worse/comment-page-1/#comment-3632 Nancy Schick Thu, 28 May 2009 20:47:36 +0000 http://theomniscientmussel.com/?p=4088#comment-3632 Hi there! As to what AFM scale is... that's a tough question to answer. For "casual work" in St Louis, MO, it varies between $40 to $100 for a two-hour job. The variables? Size of house, how expensive the venue is, and so on. The Local Veterans' Hall doesn't have the kind of money that the Ritz-Carleton Hotel. Then there are the separate labor agreements (in the US - I'm assuming there are similar ones in Canada). These are between an employer (such as the St Louis Symphony) and the Local (such as Local 2-197 in St Louis). Base rate per year? About $74,000, for 42 weeks, of which 4 to 6 are vacation weeks. Actual time at the workplace per week is about 18.5 hours. Other orchestras have different amounts, and these have a direct relationship to their market size, season length, and so forth. Hope this helps clarify. Hi there!
As to what AFM scale is… that’s a tough question to answer.
For “casual work” in St Louis, MO, it varies between $40 to $100 for a two-hour job. The variables? Size of house, how expensive the venue is, and so on. The Local Veterans’ Hall doesn’t have the kind of money that the Ritz-Carleton Hotel.
Then there are the separate labor agreements (in the US – I’m assuming there are similar ones in Canada). These are between an employer (such as the St Louis Symphony) and the Local (such as Local 2-197 in St Louis). Base rate per year? About $74,000, for 42 weeks, of which 4 to 6 are vacation weeks. Actual time at the workplace per week is about 18.5 hours.
Other orchestras have different amounts, and these have a direct relationship to their market size, season length, and so forth.
Hope this helps clarify.

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