As an independent journalist, Bob MacKenzie writes articles for a number of print and internet publications. The local and national scope of his articles for the Kingston Net Times, the Kingston Business Journal, and other publications make them of interest to readers not just in Kingston but across North America. This article is reprinted here for your information. All original material included in this page is copyright © Bob MacKenzie, 1996. No reproduction for any reason is allowed without prior permission in writing from the author.

The article below was published on the internet in the Kingston Net Times.

by Bob MacKenzie

In 1996, we can hear music wherever we may go, in part due to events that occurred one hundred years ago. On October 19, 1896, a group of thirty-one musicians gathered in Parlor 35 of the Hotel English in Indianapolis, Indiana. Out of that meeting was born the American Federation of Musicians, the musician's union.

Before the formation of the A. F. of M., musicians struggled to make a living with no guarantee of wages, no steady employment, no retirement benefits, and often not even enough to provide funeral benefits. For the public, professionally performed music was usually available only to the elite. A hundred years later, the union serves members throughout North America, ensuring that they can earn a livelihood while providing the diversity of affordable music that fills our lives.

Joining with locals across Canada and the United States in celebrating the centenary of the A. F. of M., the Kingston Musician's Union (Local 518) itself has a long history. Formed in 1938, the Kingston Musician's Union has provided 58 years of continuous service to area musicians and to our community.

According to Dick Baldwin, a longtime member of the Kingston local, the union's job is to protect its members. While he cannot get into specific cases, he says that over the years, "there have been numerous cases where contracts have been defaulted by employers and we always manage to collect. There was never a case where we have not collected."

As well, among other benefits, the union provides life insurance and inexpensive insurance for instruments and negotiates on a national basis with the recording and broadcast industries. For those of us who are not musicians, the union ensures that there is an abundance of music available, often inexpensively or even at no charge.

During the 1940's, musicians struck against the recording industry. One result was a period when movies were produced without instrumental music and only vocal recordings were produced. Another was the formation of the Music Performance Trust Fund (M. P. T. F.). For fifty years, the recording industry has contributed a portion of its earnings to provide free live music concerts to the public in every community. Kingston is no exception.

Dick Baldwin calls the M. P. T. F. "one of the plums of the whole labour movement," and points out that the Kingston Musician's Union has been especially active in taking advantage of this opportunity to provide free live music to Kingstonians.

Almost every year, the Kingston Musician's Union receives awards from the M. P. T. F. for its participation in this program. All summer long, Kingston residents can enjoy live music by the best local musicians in the parks. Musicians perform at retirement homes, in the schools, and at special events. And everywhere they perform, the music is free.

Union musicians also perform at numerous benefits for local charities, combining excellent entertainment with community service. For these musicians, hours and sometimes weeks of hard work go into these community projects.

Although we are a small community, Kingston area musicians are especially active. Well known musicians from this area include The Tragically Hip, The Mahones, The Inbreds, Weeping Tile, Jackson Delta, Printer's Alley, Gopher Baroque, HellBillies, members of Michelle Wright's band, and many more.

In the past year alone, new compact discs have been released by Georgette Fry, Kevin Head, Blue Monday, Wild Blues Yonder, Night Sun, Pat Murray, and several other groups and individual artists living and working in Kingston. Several more are in various stages of production.

"It's an interesting history," says Dick Baldwin in reference to both the A. F. of M.'s centenary and the Kingston union's 58 years, "but we're a union. Everyday working: that's what we're supposed to do and that's what we do."