These model standards and procedures have been created by the AFM’s Symphonic Services Division with input from leaders in the symphonic field, including the leadership of the Black Orchestral Network. These standards and procedures provide a model for codifying processes that previously have been ill-defined and far from uniform in our symphonic CBAs. As a result of a lack of clarity, consistency and transparency around probation and tenure processes, musicians at that stage of their careers have endured—without recourse—some of the worst failures of our industry, ranging from poor communication about expectations and how to meet them to discrimination, harassment and denials of tenure for reasons that seem to have little to do with the musician’s performance.

This document is intended as a model, to be used in the collective bargaining process between employers and local unions of the AFM. It could be adopted in its entirety as a new CBA article or an exhibit to a CBA. It can also be used as a reference for how to update and improve aspects of existing processes. Additional explanatory notes in italics can be found throughout this model document.

For assistance in bargaining these model standards and procedures, contact the AFM’s Symphonic Services Division.

-Rochelle G. Skolnick, Director, Symphonic Services Division and Special Counsel, AFM September, 2024