The Musicians' Village, conceived by Harry Conick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, is a community of single-family homes in the Upper 9th Ward constructed for musicians who lost their houses to Katrina. The Village will also soon house a full recording studio and rehearsal space where residents will work and teach music classes. Workers with Habitat For Humanity and the Baptist Crossroads Project are building homes in the Musicians' Village for New Orleans musicians who lost their houses to Hurricane Katrina. So far 80 homes have been built, and by the end of 2008 a total of 300 will be completed. Latin jazz artist and Local 174-496 member Fredy Omar plays the piano inside his newly constructed home in the Musicians' Village. Bob French, legendary jazz drummer and Local 174-496 Life Member, with Business Rep Cindy Mayes. Still actively working despite the storm, he has led the Tuxedo Jazz Band since 1977. The band is the oldest continually working jazz band in history, established in 1910 by Oscar "Papa" Celestin and later led by French's father, Albert "Papa" French, from 1958 to 1977. Thais Clark and the Palm Court jazz band performs at the famous restaurant on Decatur Street. Since its inception, the Palm Court has always hired union bands. AFM musicians in the band Jam-All Productions rehearses at New Orleans Local 174-496.

By Linda Rapka, AFM Local 47 Overture Managing Editor

Two years after the devastating hit of Hurricane Katrina, the International Labor Communications Association held its annual convention in New Orleans Oct. 18 through Oct. 20, 2007. Recognizing the significance of this anniversary, the convention's 70-plus labor reporters undertook an unprecedented endeavor and delved into the city to uncover the stories of union workers from all walks of life.

The scars carved into the city by the storm run deep as the floodwaters which caused them. Homes and buildings still bear the somber spray-painted X-marks left by Urban Search and Rescue teams which surveyed the entire city for victims the days following the storm. Lampposts and street signs lie askew by the roadside, half covered in grass. Enormous heaps of rubble rest on desolate sites where large shopping centers once stood. Hospitals remain closed. Businesses are boarded up. Residents fled, and many were left with nothing to which to return.

Located on a quaint tree-lined street near the French Quarter in the historical neighborhood of Treme, New Orleans AFM Local 174-496 has felt the storm's impact. Though fortunate to have avoided flooding by just a few inches, the Local still faced the struggle of staying afloat in the wake of the most destructive and costly natural disaster in the history of the United States.

A small Local with a membership of 800 before the storm, it strongly felt the impact of decline in membership. Secretary/Treasurer Kim Foreman puts the current membership count at around 680. However, he said they were able to retain many members "by waiving one quarter's dues and by offering emergency assistance through our Altruist Fund, our Local's funds, and of course the AFM Gulf Coast Relief Fund from which we received $400,000, and to which Local 47 contributed quite generously." Local 47 contributed $25,000 to the AFM's Gulf Coast Relief Fund, to which the Federation matched funds dollar for dollar.

"It will be a slow build back, as many are still displaced," Foreman said. Business Representative Cindy Mayes said that some of these displaced members have retained their membership by opting for dual AFM membership in other cities.

Musicians in New Orleans were given their $400 assistance checks as quickly as they could be tracked down. "Many union members were also granted a second check as the funds grew due to ongoing donations," Foreman said. "This helped us locate and stay in touch with most of our members as they had to supply their contact info to apply for assistance." All told, most members were able to receive up to a few thousand dollars in relief.

"I was trying to find a way to go back to New Orleans after the storm," said Fredy Omar, Latin jazz artist and Local 174-496 member. "Relief from the union gave us aid to survive and find our way back." Now living in the Musicians' Village, Omar and his band often play a union gig at Ray's Boom Boom Room on Frenchman Street in the French Quarter.

In addition to monetary assistance, Foreman said lots of used instruments were donated through various charities. "We served as the clearing house by matching instruments to individuals," he said.

Once the emergency relief was doled out, musicians tried to get back to work. "Our Louisiana Philharmonic is back and doing well in spite of losing their home base, the Orpheum Theater, thanks to local donors and the university auditoriums for a place to perform, and a local church for giving them a temporary base while they await the rebuilding," Foreman said. The orchestra, which was only able to play one-third of its season ending in 2006, has rebounded and currently has a full schedule.

However, finding union work is proving more difficult for some musicians, especially after the storm. As one of the nation's 22 Right-to-Work states, Louisiana follows statutes that prohibit trade unions from making membership or payment of union dues a condition of employment, either before or after hire. Foreman estimates that New Orleans' ratio of non-union to union musicians is approximately five to one, giving employers looking to cut costs more incentive to hire less costly non-union musicians.

Jazz drummer and Local 174-496 Life Member Bob French found that union work in nightclubs has become more scarce in New Orleans since Katrina. "All the good joints are taken over by people not from New Orleans," he said. "They came in and they started looking for people non-union because they know they can pay them less money. So that makes it difficult."

Foreman explained that "many of our contracts are no longer valid, and some clubs and venues are resistant to renegotiating as they were getting players for cheap due to the desperation of so many musicians. We also lost some of our CBAs because the venues were destroyed, such as the Saenger Theater, our main touring/theater venue."

Despite the difficulties, Foreman says union work for musicians in New Orleans is starting to increase.

"The demand is growing, and we are getting ready to set a new wage scale book and trying to get the venues to pay fair wages," he said. "We are making the public aware of the substandard conditions that prevail at many venues and hope to start turning the trend around."