“To my colleagues I give the last word. It is my hope that their legacy of commitment will inspire us all. I hope, also, that these reflections will remind us of the continuing pertinence of their story and the necessity for ongoing vigilance.”

Julie Ayer, May 2005

“The growth of ICSOM has helped the individual player to the degree that the younger players will never understand. It was an incredible effort made in those days. Informing the new members of the hard-won battles of the last three decades is of paramount importance. If they are not given the knowledge of how things came to be, and that the wages, pension, and benefits they now enjoy were not given to them by the employers, they will not be equipped to continue making progress. None of these achievements occurred in a vacuum. The musicians and their counsel now negotiated with managements that were willing or had no choice but to acknowledge their presence at the table. And with the shift in power came the responsibility of representation and ratification that accompanied it. “

I. Philip Sipser, ICSOM labor lawyer, 1968-1985

… the complete text is available in “More Than Meets The Ear“

Required Reading for All Musicians