25
Nov
Members of AFTRA, attending meetings in six different cities, have voted to ratify the collective bargaining agreement reached between the union and major record labels BMG, EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group. Pursuant to AFTRA’s Constitution, the agreement—finalised in September—was voted on by the membership in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC and Nashville.
Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Associate National Executive Director and chief negotiator for AFTRA announced that the Trustees of the AFTRA Health & Retirement Funds have also approved the contract.
The crucial element of the new agreement is an innovative arrangement that guarantees access to basic AFTRA health plan coverage for all AFTRA-covered royalty artists who are under exclusive contract to a label. “Everyone, on both sides, recognizes the value and the significance of providing basic health insurance for recording artists,” said Hedgpeth. [more @ www.mi2n.com]0