Kale Cumings

Candidate for International President

We all owe a debt of gratitude to our officers and executive committee for leaving us fiscally healthier than we have been in years. We need to continue that strong tradition, but we now have the opportunity to reach out to the next generation of working musicians in a way we haven’t before. Through listening and creating space we can find and empower the voices that have been missing. Working together we can dedicate ourselves to growing our membership and their power, which means embracing organizing as a fundamental principal. For more information ask any Local 6 member.

Kale Cumings, a native of Michigan, is President of Local 6 (San Francisco). He received a B.M. degree from Wheaton College and a M.M. degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Vincent Cichowicz. Kale is an active freelance player and performs with many local orchestras.

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My Perspective on Organizing

I’ve spoken and heard so much about “organizing” recently that I’ve come to realize the term itself really means different things to different people. I sometime catch myself getting caught up in the corporate-speak sound bites we have all been forced to use at times. So I’d like to clarify what is different about my view of organizing.

Dear AFM Colleagues:

It is difficult for me to find words to convey adequately my feelings of renewed optimism and pure excitement at the prospect of Kale Cumings becoming the next AFM President, but I’ll give it a shot.

I’ve known Kale for over twenty years, having spent considerable time together in the trenches of the Local 6 freelance and theatre scenes, as well as in various union activities. When it came time for me to find someone within our membership to succeed me as Local 6 president, my overriding criterion was to identify a member whose potential and abilities would assure our Local of continued strong leadership. While our Local has no shortage of talented folks who also possess an uncompromising unionist philosophy, Kale was far and away my first choice. His subsequent election and re-election borne out my predictions of his success.

Kale has brought both intelligence and an uncommon thoughtfulness to his office. He asks tough questions; he solicits the views of others; he considers all viewpoints; and he is comfortable in the decisions he ultimately makes. Kale is able and willing to defend his positions vigorously and, if necessary, ferociously. He possesses negotiating skills that have earned him the confidence and respect of musician committees – and the often begrudging regard of opposing employers.

Kale believes in the collective process with all his being. When he speaks about the necessity of the AFM returning to a musician-driven organization from its present “top-down” model of leadership, he means it. I completely agree with his assessment that our union must seek to be much more inclusive of, and responsive to, the needs of a huge community of freelance musicians in the US and Canada. It is the only way to ensure our influence in the industry and avoid continued catastrophic loss of membership.

At the same time, Kale certainly sees as vital to our collective interests the crucial presence and representation of existing Player Conference members. He believes that the “haves” and the “have nots” in our Union and industry should have nothing to fear from each other – a division that has at times been nurtured by previous administrations. He believes, as do I, that we ALL stand to gain when we are united, and loss is inevitable when we are not.

I emphatically endorse Kale Cumings as our next AFM President.

I further support those who share Kale’s vision for effective Union leadership and have joined the VPU slate of candidates. In Solidarity, David Schoenbrun President Emeritus Musicians Union Local 6

David Schoenbrun

Local 6 President Emeritus

Kale Cumings was a tremendous asset to our Players Committee during our recent long and contentious CBA negotiation. He brought not only a deep knowledge of labor law and negotiating tactics, but also a wide ranging intelligence, strength, and diplomacy. He worked closely with us, listening to our concerns at all times, advising and supporting.

Maria Caswell

Local 6 Member

I am a proud member of Local 6 and have worked with President Kale Cumings as an orchestra colleague and member of the Local 6 Staff. I wholeheartedly endorse Kale and the entire VPU slate and believe that their Vision platform is what is critically needed to grow the AFM and make us a vibrant part of the labor movement in the U.S. and Canada. First and foremost, Kale listens. His leadership style is welcoming of new ideas and he is able to build teamwork through making sure that all the voices in the room are heard and respected. In short, he believes and demonstrates by word and action that Voices Power Unity.

Cheryl Fippen

Local 6 Member and Previous Staff Member

Kale would be an amazing president of the AFM! In my personal experience as an individual musician, and as an orchestral committee member, Kale has been respectful, kind, supportive, understanding of union laws and not afraid of conflict. I’d say even more importantly, he is honest, has integrity, and a passion for fairness for musicians. These are all attributes that would make Kale a perfect choice to be our AFM president!

Maxine Nemerovski

Local 6 Member

I support Kale for President of the AFM because of his intuitive leadership and practical knowledge of computers and programs. He is a great communicator. He has been "in the trenches" with the working players for as long as I have known him, and has first hand experience with the difficulties of the working player, in all types of work; auditioning, playing the "Freeway Philharmonic", "Freeway Broadway" regional work and the grueling understaffed workload. He is a tough negotiator, and cares for the well being of the musicians first and foremost.

Joe Rodriguez

Local 6 Member

I am excited to endorse Kale Cumings for president of the AFM. I have known Kale for the past 8 years and have watched him grow into a position of strong leadership. Our local has a large jurisdiction, serving members from Santa Cruz to the California border with Oregon. Kale has not only developed exceptional negotiating skill in these past difficult years, but he has put forth a new vision to the many free-lance musicians of different genres that have felt disenfranchised from the restrained ability of the Union to reach them. Kale has met with various advocacy organizations including Jazz in the Neighborhood, and the Independent Musician’s Alliance here in the Bay Area. Kale understands that for the AFM to survive and regrow it’s membership in the future, it must provide a pathway of inclusion for the many members who do not benefit from CBA’s. He is honestly listening to us and reaching out.

John N. Fisher

Local 6 Member, S.F. Labor Council and Diversity Delegate