I waltzed into a studio in the recent past and was asked by an artist:
"Good Friday is coming up and it's a holiday. And the production manager wants everybody to come in Saturday after Good Friday. He says we'll be getting straight time because it's, like, the fifth day worked."
"Is that kosher?"
Getting away from the religious overtones, actually no.
The Animation Guild Contract says, and I quote:
"There shall be nine (9) paid holidays during the year [one being Good Friday in most contracts.] Every employee shall receive straight time pay for each unworked holiday; double time shall be paid for all work done on said holidays ..."
"Said holidays shall be counted as eight (8) hours of work in computing the forty (40) hour week." (Article 6)
Which means, in working-person speak: "You come in on the Saturday or Sunday after Good Friday, you get time and a half."
(This assumes you've worked the other four days of the week, and weren't out sick ... or getting the dog shampooed and blow-dried ... or otherwise playing hooky.)
I spoke with the production person, spoke with labor relations, spoke with other union mucky mucks. And everyone was in agreement: Saturday ("the sixth day worked" in contract-speak, even though it was the fifth day worked in real life) had to be paid at time and a half.
This kind of thing goes on quite often, boys and girls. It isn't just the times in which we live. It's the fact that everyone tries to squeeze a nickel wherever and whenever they can. And managers are often very good at squeezing nickels.
My advice: Know your rights. Know the contract. Know labor reguations. Because knowledge helps level the workplace soccer field, if only a little.
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16 comments:
I keep reading things like this and you're going to turn me into a Liberal , Mr. Hulett. (used to fancy myself something of a free-market conservative, but what's "free" these days about the market?)
Why are they all trying to screw the working person ?
Why do people try to pull this crap ?
It cuts across party lines... the RepubliCrats who are in the pockets of the New World Order corporations are equally to blame . No one respects the union contracts and more so they don't respect the PEOPLE who are the ones represented by those union contracts.
There's no such thing as a "free market." Never has been, never will be. It's a fantasy of the right. Most of the large companies that whine about wanting a "free market" economy are heavily subsidized by the U.S. Taxpayer already in one form or another. And they are NOT interested in competition.
this is the situation on princess and the frog. we as a group need to give them the message,
Give them a message? What? From all these comments it appears to be that the free market is dead and we should all join a collective. I have so much respect for animators, please tell me this isn't how all of them think.
Sigh.
The "free market" isn't "dead." It would have had to exist to die. It never did.
Just like you and me, governments can't afford anything. Your taxes actually pay for a very small portion of our national debt. So the government empowers the Fed, a private banking cartel, a central bank. Central banks magically create money by issuing credit. 'Presidents' magically use 'tax' policy to placate their base. Labor is deceived into conducting negotiations based on 'salaries' which are hopelessly tied to worthless fiat currency. Meanwhile, the central bank silently amasses the fortune of monarchs through the real tax, inflation. It's how the game works.
There is no free market in America. There have been periods in our history that you can point to as examples of a free market, namely when we didn't have a central bank, but they die as soon as the bankers inevitably forget the lessons of history and begin to play magic with the people's deposits.
In America today there is only war and debt. England and France and countless other empires have had their numerous dances with both and that's where we are today. We owe a massive fortune and continue to spend ourselves into oblivion.
Thanks a lot Hoover-Roosevelt-Truman-Eisenhower-Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon-Ford-Carter-Reagan
Clinton-Bush-Obama.
To be fair, there really wasn't much any of them they could do anyway - except wage war, of course.
Which is ultimately what the cycle descends into, over and over and over again. Lawyers, guns and money, friends. It's all there in the history books.
Steve, I am concerned. A commenter in this thread mentioned that this is going on with "Princess and the Frog." I hope an inquiry will be made to Disney Feature, on an official level, to ensure that this will not happen this weekend.
I'm sure you have a handle on it, but just wanted to follow up and mention my worthless 2 cents.
"Thanks a lot Hoover-Roosevelt-Truman-Eisenhower-Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon-Ford-Carter-Reagan-Clinton-Bush-Obama."
You skipped a Bush in there...
sorry. same guy.
The the commenter(s) above, the problems has been (supposedly) taken care of.
Give them a message? What? From all these comments it appears to be that the free market is dead and we should all join a collective. I have so much respect for animators, please tell me this isn't how all of them think.
Sigh.
What exactly are you unclear on, Sheriff? That animators should get paid according to the union contract they work under? Why is that a problem, exactly?
We ARE a collective. Animation in the studio system doesn't happen due to an individual, it happens because a group of people come together to try to do the best job they can under the usually insane circumstances they're given.
Remember, the studios have NO loyalty to you. They'll screw you if they can. And they often do. I'm glad this was posted to show that hey! when someone's paying attention, they get something in the positive for once.
Good Friday... kosher...
Good Friday is a very good day to not be working on.
Peace.
Why? To satisfy a bunch of religious kooks? If it is, it shouldn't be a federal holiday. What a waste of taxpayer money.
No---thankfully it's not a federal holiday. What a ridiculous idea. Remember, the Constitution of the United States is a secular/civil document.
From all these comments it appears to be that the free market is dead and we should all join a collective. I have so much respect for animators, please tell me this isn't how all of them think.
You catch on fast, Sheriff B.
Perhaps you noticed ... uh ... all the money that AIG, Goldman Sachs, and other companies have been collecting from our fine, corporatist government?
You know, the free enterprise system that never was?
Don't deny animators a little self-protection on their own. None of them have TARP money.
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