Why not just remain in the union and do non-union session work anyway?
Two reasons: 1) When you joined The AFM you stated that you would honor Rule One and not perform on non-union sessions. You signed a document to that effect. Doing non-union sessions breaches that contract. 2) You are opening yourself up to severe discipline within the union if you do non-union work. The AFM takes this very seriously. A normal process is that the AFM legal department will send you a letter demanding that you explain yourself, fill out a form, etc. Then you go to a trial hearing within the AFM. Often the penalty for a full union member doing non-union work is a fine equal to the money earned on the job, and the loss of membership for a specified amount of time. In some cases, the penalties far exceed reasonable amounts, and can place the member in financial hardship. Refer to the recent announcement by the AFM relating to excessive penalties imposed on members for performing specific dark dates. Is it worth it? http://www.afm.org/public/press/seattle.
