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We're not talking about building the controls on c.g. characters, but something else.
Justice Department Reaches Settlement With Lucasfilm In Hiring Probe
Lucasfilm Ltd. agreed Tuesday to settle civil charges that it and Pixar Animation agreed to limit competition for each other's digital-animation workers, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
The settlement is the latest development in the department's ongoing probe of hiring practices in the technology sector. Pixar, a unit of Walt Disney Co. (DIS), was not named in Tuesday's legal complaint because it was one of six companies that settled similar charges in September, the department said.
The department's antitrust regulators alleged that Lucasfilm and Pixar, rival animation studios, had agreed not to cold-call each other's employees, and further agreed to notify each other when making an offer to an employee of the other company. The department also said the companies had agreed, when offering a job to a rival's employee, not to counteroffer with compensation above the initial offer ...
Hard to fathom, isn't it? Entertainment companies trying to keep wages down by gaming the system. Almost makes you suspect that our benevolent corporate masters might not be looking out for employees' best interests after all.
But I won't focus on these things now. I'll think about this sad turn of events tomorrow, after I've cried myself to sleep.
Add On: VFX Soldier has his own take on the collusion deal.
The settlement was laughable as the punishment for the crime wasn’t even a slap on the wrist. The companies basically had to agree not to break the law for the next 5 years!
For VFX artists the settlement provides more questions than answers.
What happens after 5 years?
Can they just go back to colluding again?
What about those up north that have been screwed out of opportunity costs for better wages?
What about other companies like Sony, Digital Domain, R+H, DreamWorks, Disney etc?
How do we find out if they have secret agreements like ILM and Pixar? ...
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21 comments:
Good thing they settled. That way the employees whose wages were kept low illegally won't need to be compensated.
Oh....I can GUARANTEE you that all sorts of conspiring goes on between studios to keep employees at a disadvantage.
The thing is......how to prove it?
Anyone have any suggestions without tipping them off as they (or one of their cronies) read this blog?
Approx. 20 years ago, a producer at one of the larger studios told me that he keeps in touch with other producers to make sure they don't out bid each other when making offers to applicants in animation.
Funny thing....I've also experienced first hand seeing lawyers "mingling" so they can "work together" to drag out cases in order to cash in.....laughing all the way to the bank at their client's expense.
I trusted them.........NEVER again.
Disney used to have in its animation employees' personal service contracts that nobody could share wage information.
Illegal, but when I pointed that small factoid out a Mouse exec said to me:
"Welll. As long as nobody takes us to court, we're okay ..."
It's one way to run a conglomerate, I suppose.
(I ultimately prevailed on them to take the clause out.)
This is one of the most revealing stories of this year, pertaining the animation industry.
While some people may state that this is no surprise to them, it's good to see that this is being taken to the legal sphere. I hope someday it will go all the way to the court.
rufus.
This kind of crap has gone on for a long time, and I've had producers at a couple of different studios tell me about their informal non-compete agreements with rival studios, as well as the fact that they share confidential wage information with each other. Some of them apparently don't even seem to think it's illegal. It's part of the reason that gross wages in animation have been capped and stagnant (or even pushed downwards) over the last dozen years.
Some studios won't even talk to you if you have any kind of contract with another studio, even if your contract is 'at will.' No other industry I know of pulls this kind of shit.
After hearing all of this, I'm not quite sure if I want to work for the animation industry anymore. I should have guessed some sneaky happenings were going about. This is a business after all. Well, now I'm at such a crossroads. Glad the public got to see what goes on, though.
What's sad to note is how little attention this matter is getting. I have to agree with Rufus and VFX Soldier, this is the biggest news in VFX all year. This tops President Loeb's public announcement of the IAs intention to organize VFX. Yet, I can barely find any word on it in the press.
To be fair, Steve Kaplan, the story above is from the Wall Street Journal, a member of the press.
Deadline.com also covered it.
But yes, this is huge and troubling news. Steve Hulett, what's the status on finding out if any of the Signatory studios in LA are up to these tricks?
ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOUR PEERS ARE EARNING.
Talk. Share. It helps everyone.
I know pretty much what every artist at my skill level makes at nearly every studio (some more, some less). Its extremely valuable information
Steve Hulett, what's the status on finding out if any of the Signatory studios in LA are up to these tricks?
Anonymous, it's difficult to discover because management doesn't broadcast what it's doing, and there isn't a clause in the contract that requires that they tell you.
But I always assume that:
1) Companies work to discourage the sharing of wage info among employees. (It's happened lots in the past. No reason to think the reality has changed.)
2) Companies low-ball wage offers. (It's only good business.)
3) Companies share wage information between each other. (Hell, they can cross-check with the publically available info, including the TAG wage survey.)
4) Companies have calluded, callude, will callude.
The light fanny-paddle by the justice department to Lucas, Pixar et al won't change corporate behavior.
I have to say, Steve, I find you being a little too accepting of this common business practice of collusion. It's outrageous behavior, and the fact that it's endemic doesn't mean we should accept it. Burglary has happened, is happening, and will happen, yet that doesn't stop us from putting in locks and alarm systems in our new building, nor from calling the cops when we've been robbed. We need to be more proactive about this.
As one specific example, I know that many competing animation companies won't negotiate with an animator who is under a contract, yet many of us are given contracts that have one-way commitments (i.e., they're only binding for the animator, not the studio). For example, DreamWorks is fond of contracts with squishy end dates. You're obligated to the company until the 'end of production' but that production end date can vary by as much as 8-9 months for different people on the same crew in the same department (for example, some people might be told there's no more work for them even though there are months of work for their department, while others will be on the very last shot, then on the fix-it team, then on the DVD extras). It makes it impossible to know when your contract is up, and therefore impossible to put out feelers to competing studios. Are these contracts valid and legal? If not, can TAG do anything about it?
Also, what are our legal rights regarding negotiating. You've done a great job of publicizing the law that says we can ALWAYS share wage information, even if we sign a contract that says we can't. Well, what other rights do we have that we don't know about? Does company A have the right to call studio B and find out what our former salary or position was? If you're finishing your contract with studio Z and negotiating with company X, and studio Z finds out, do they have the right to call company X and block the negotiations until you're completely free and clear of studio Z?
This is the kind of garbage that many of us have experienced, and it's hard to know what the law is. I know that just because the law says one thing it doesn't mean it happens that way, but no one will push back as long as we're all convinced that it's kosher.
Hi,
I'd like to chime in about the above comment. What's frustrating about collusion is it's basically a thought crime that we can't prove until a company admits it.
It's hard to be proactive, but what a union can and should do is to come down hard on these kinds of crimes by referring artists to good lawyers.
When this collusion news first broke they contacted some lawyers and came back to let artists know if they were colluded against they can still proceed with a civil case regardless of the DOJ settlement.
I've contacted a lawyer about open ended contracts and they are legal but that doesn't mean you can't negotiate for something better. I'm aware of many DW employees who are hiring lawyers to negotiate their contracts.
I think what we need to understand is that a union provides a framework for negotiation the minute an offer is made. That framework is guaranteeding OT, health insurance, vacation and sick days, wage minimums.
After that its up to you to negotiate the most for your value. Some artists want more union say in those contracts, others want to negotiate on their own.
Artists need to get together and voice what they want in the next contract.
What's frustrating about collusion is it's basically a thought crime that we can't prove until a company admits it.
Two problems here. First, it's not a 'thought crime,' it's an actual illegal practice that is based on tangible behavior and interactions between responsible individuals at the studios. And companies admit it all the time. I've personally been told that an offer was being modified after I accepted it, because after we'd negotiated the studio had contacted a previous employer (without my permission) and wanted to stick me with terms I'd negotiated with that previous employer. I fought it, but I know people in the same position who don't. And I know of people who were told that offers they were actively negotiating were being withdrawn because those animator's current employers had interfered. The companies aren't even that secretive about this, because they're confident we're sheep.
It's hard to be proactive
Actually, it's not hard. The union already does a good job of advertising, repeatedly, what overtime law is, and what it really means to be an independent contractor, and so on. The rules and regs about collusion can also be advertised. Forewarned is forearmed. You won't bother to get a lawyer involved unless you know you have the need to do so.
I've contacted a lawyer about open ended contracts and they are legal
My question isn't are these contracts legal. It is, are these contracts enforceable? If you have a contract with an 'end of production' clause, can you collect damages if the company decides the end of production for you is 2 months ahead of everyone else in your department? Or when they tell you your actual end date is months away, because they want you to do fixes and then work on DVD extras, and you have another job lined up, can they go after you for breaking the contract?
By the way, the lawyers I've talked to have been emphatic that open ended contracts are NOT legal. That is, a contact that said you couldn't leave the company unless the company agreed, but the company could lay you off whenever they chose to. Either both parties agree to a specific end date, or both parties can end the contract if certain criteria are met.
The issue here is that there is the appearance that these aren't open ended, that there is a tangible end date. But is it a valid negotiation if the agreed upon 'end date' is unilaterally decided by only one of the parties? At the very least the union could be advertising to us how these contracts end up working in practice.
I've personally been told that an offer was being modified after I accepted it, because after we'd negotiated the studio had contacted a previous employer (without my permission) and wanted to stick me with terms I'd negotiated with that previous employer.
This is clearly a situation where a lawyer should have been contacted. I know so many artists who agree to some terms and the day they start they are asked to sign a contract that was completely different from what they negotiated for.
Pertaining to collusion, what I meant about a thought crime is because there is no open evidence of the crime at the time it happens.
How am I supposed to know about a company that wants to call me but won't because of a no cold calling agreement?
With unpaid OT the evidence is right there. I worked late, I either get paid for it or I don't. Same thing with 1099. There is a form I fill out that shows im on a 1099 contract.
I'd propose that any managers, supervisors, and recruiters at guild signatory facilities be obligated to sign personal agreements not to engage in collusion.
If it is revealed and proven that they did indeed engage in collusion, that they can personally be taken to court by the artist and be held liable.
If I were a recruiter I would do everything to avoid even thinking about it if I was held personally liable.
Share wage information so that you have the same information the companies do. (They pay consultants to collect and share wage information within the industry!)
I'm all in favor of the TAG wage survey, but glassdoor.com is a year-round alternative!
Steve Hulett,
I find your answer a bit too "c'est la vie" for me.
Just some straight up advice here... if you really want to organize new shops, organize VFX shops, etc, this is how you do it:
OWN this issue. I mean SERIOUSLY frigging own this. Get the Animation Guild to grow a pair and go to town on this.
First off, SERIOUSLY get mad about it.
Second: do something. You want to organize LucasFilm? Then get the IA to weigh in with the Justice Department on this proposed settlement. There's a public comment period before this goes through. Perhaps an energized union could get its membership to comment. Maybe with enough complaining we can shove this settlement back to the bargaining table. Maybe with a little backing from our parent organization.
Make it the Animation Guild's business to put some teeth in this law. If right now studios get a handslap for doing this, then lobby congress to change the law so that it actually has a deterrent effect.
Put out the word to all AG members who are current or former employees of any of those companies, to get them in touch with legal council and give them instructions on how to file a class action.
This effects EVERYBODY'S pay. Everybody in the industry is paid less because of this illegal price-fixing.
If you want to organize Sony, organize Pixar, organize Lucas, organize DD, then you need to take this seriously. Make this your issue.
Otherwise everyone is looking at how the guild handles this, and saying "well, look, they don't do anything. Why do we need a union?"
Guys at my shop already say that. If they could vote out the union, they probably would. Why? Because when I said "hey, I wonder if the union could do anything about this?" all they did is snort derisively and laugh. "Those guys know where their bread is buttered."
My previous comment didn't make it through:
I also have my own wage information:
http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/wages-in-the-vfx-animation-and-games-industry/
@Anon 6:55:00 PM
Those tactics the company used against you are seriously wrong. I think we all need to start hiring lawyers to negotiate contracts.
Pertaining to the thought crime of collusion. What I meant is that there isn't really evidence of the crime being commited which makes it so hard to prove:
How am I supposed to know that a company that wanted to hire me couldn't contact me because of a no-poaching agreement?
With unpaid OT I have proof because I have a check that shows I was only paid for 50 hours instead of the 55 that I worked. I have proof that I was illegally classified under 1099 because of a form that the company filled out.
I have proposal for TAG and any other vfx union:
All executives, managers, and recruiters involved in hiring must sign an agreement that they acknowledge that they can be civilly liable for engaging in collusion against guild members.
If it's revealed that a manager or recruiter engaged in collusion against you, you should be allowed to civilly sue that person.
@Anon 10:10:00 PM
Well said. Longfellow couldn't have said it better.
We need more "carpe diem" and less "c'est la vie" in our industry.
Does company A have the right to call studio B and find out what our former salary or position was? If you're finishing your contract with studio Z and negotiating with company X, and studio Z finds out, do they have the right to call company X and block the negotiations until you're completely free and clear of studio Z?
Any studio has the right to communicate with any other studio. An exec picks up the phone and asks for info. If it's given, it's given, if not, not.
If they start price-fixing together, that's illegal. If they have hire/ not hire agreements, that's illegal. (Understand that the line is fuzzy, not bright.)
Also understand that TAG has assisted a lot of artists in exiting contracts they don't want to be in. We've been doing this for decades. We don't broadcast it, we just do it.
Our position, repeatedly stated, that personal service contracts without specific end-dates are AT WILL, meaning they can be exited by either party on short notice.
Anonymous said:
I find your answer a bit too "c'est la vie" for me.
Just some straight up advice here... if you really want to organize new shops, organize VFX shops, etc, this is how you do it:
OWN this issue. I mean SERIOUSLY frigging own this. Get the Animation Guild to grow a pair and go to town on this.
First off, SERIOUSLY get mad about it.
Second: do something. You want to organize LucasFilm? Then get the IA to weigh in with the Justice Department on this proposed settlement. There's a public comment period before this goes through. Perhaps an energized union could get its membership to comment. Maybe with enough complaining we can shove this settlement back to the bargaining table. Maybe with a little backing from our parent organization.
Make it the Animation Guild's business to put some teeth in this law. If right now studios get a handslap for doing this, then lobby congress to change the law so that it actually has a deterrent effect.
Good suggestions all. And I will follow up.
And I'd really appreciate it if whoever wrote this would get in touch with me:
shulett@animationguild.org
(818) 845-7500
Brave, clear-thinking words have more resonance when they're not attached to "Anonymous"
Fantastic dialogue going on here. THIS is what needs to happen and is NOW happening.
I've heard it mentioned before (on this very blog I believe) that the union is not a small group of folks in an office somewhere......it's not "them"......it's the entire collective of it's members as a force to be reckoned with.
THAT'S how things get done.
As long as we all act like sheep......we'll ALL continue to be treated like sheep.
This has GOT to end.
If it doesn't then no one has any right to complain.
YOU make your future.
Oh, and a response to:
Aurora Dawson said...
After hearing all of this, I'm not quite sure if I want to work for the animation industry anymore.
Yeah.......funny huh? You'd think working in "Cartoons" would be a fun happy kind of thing.
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