Community

***From the New Orleans Musicians Alliance:***

 

It’s come to our attention that as clubs are reopening, some are  attempting to hire musicians to work for FREE (no pay, just tips and  drinks/food). This is completely unacceptable and inexcusable! We understand that there is a lot of financial hardship for small businesses at the moment, but that does not in any way excuse the  exploitation of our labor. Musicians are the only workers in these  venues being asked to do anything without guaranteed pay from the venue.  Your labor as a musician is valuable! Agreeing to play for free  devalues everyone, and will only drive down our wages further. We  strongly encourage you to say NO to lowball “offers” and stand in  solidarity for living wages for musicians. We deeply understand how  difficult it is to turn down any work right now, after 8 months, but it  will only make it harder for us to get our fair share as the economy  begins to recover. We have the power to end the exploitation of our  labor, and we must use it. Musicians are already standing up against this. Let’s stand in solidarity together!

If you hear of a club making this kind of exploitative offer, please email us at musiciansalliancenola@gmail.com. Thank you!