Originally Posted by PH

In my life I have been a member of 4 different locals. It has been my experience in every case that the unions do not get you any work as a freelancer. Your playing ability and personal connections get you work. If you reach a point where your ability and network causes work to be referred to you, THEN you will want to join the local.

As a jazz musician you would often find that being a member of the union and strictly adhering to union protocol for booking, etc. will bar you from more work than it will provide. This is the reason that most players I know in most cities belong to the union but do a great percentage of their work as non-union "off the books".

Unless you belong to a major orchestra or are in a good relationship with a contractor for shows and recording in a major city, you will probably starve trying to exist on union work alone in the present artistic and economic environment.