At last night's membership meeting, we discussed that as more and more of us find ourselves working at minimum scale (or less), it's important for members to know what the union minimum is for their category -- yes, even if they're making overscale. Three weeks ago, I posted about our CBA minimums that are going up effective this coming Sunday.
A number of years ago, I was privy to a discussion with a member who was bragging that he was the highest-paid animator at Miracle Pictures* -- why, he was making $1,000 per week! Whereupon Bud Hester informed the fellow that the journey minimum for animators at Miracle Pictures was over $1,000, and had been for the past year-and-a-half.
It seems he had negotiated his overscale rate several years previously, when he may well have been the highest-paid at his studio. But his rate had stayed the same while the minimums had gone up. (We filed a grievance, and the employer coughed up the back monies.)
Another example: for a number of years now, the going rate for half-hour TV scripts (inclusive of outline and teleplay) has been $6,500. When that standard was set, the Guild minimum was much less. But a year ago the minimum passed $6,500, and as of next week it's $6,766.67. We've filed (and won) grievances over writers paid less than the half-hour minimum.
Of course, Guild employers are supposed to make sure no one is making less than minimum scale, but (intentionally or otherwise) they often don't until they're reminded. And remember, the Guild doesn't get reports of the amount of people's weekly checks. So it's up to us to police our own rates.
Bottom line: the employers can't be reminded unless we do the reminding. If you don't know your minimum rate, check the previous post or contact me at the Guild.
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4 comments:
Hey, what's going on with the Pegboard??
- Is it updated every month?? Kind of nice to follow on the internet though.
- Just wondering...
You should be getting the PegBoard every month if you're an active member or if you've subscribed. Are you not getting your copy?
Sorry, broken link. It's working now.
If you're an active member, you should be getting the Peg-Board automatically and free of charge.
If you're on honorable withdrawal, you can get it free of charge; you just have to remember to request it in writing once a year, and keep us up-to-date on your address.
If you're not in good standing (i.e. suspended), or if you're not a TAG member, it's $10 per year for a mail subscription in the U.S. ($15 per year foreign in U.S. funds).
If you're in good standing and want to get the Peg-Board, e-mail me.
Ignore the above and try e-mailing me at jeffm@animationguild.org.
Remember, you have to be in good standing to get the Peg-Board by mail without cost.
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