Over this past weekend the return rate for the 2011 wage survey questionnaires topped twenty percent. We are guardedly optimistic that we can at the very least beat last year's return of 22.9%.
There are eleven days left to submit your wage survey questionnaire in advance of the July 22 extended deadline.
Remember that the information you give us is critical to an accurate view of the state of the industry, wage-wise. This is information that our employers already have, and we seek to make sure we have that information as well. It's about leveling the playing field.
If you didn't receive a questionnaire or have misplaced it, you have two simple alternatives:
- Contact me by e-mail and ask to have the survey and the postpaid return envelope mailed to you, or
- Download the form and mail, fax or e-mail it back to the attention of Jeff Massie. We will take the form and mix it with the ones we’ve received to guarantee your anonymity.
The wage survey results will be posted on this blog, on the e-mail list and website, and in the August Peg-Board. Don't leave yourself out of the process -- take two minutes to fill out and return your questionnaire, and do your part to help level the playing field.
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23 comments:
I don't understand what the members have against participating in this survey. This says a lot about the solidarity of the guild. If anybody cares, I sent mine weeks ago =(
I think the apathy is because the survey isn't terribly helpful. I wish there was a better way of presenting the results rather than a wide range of salary's with the lowest individual's pay at the bottom, the highest individual's pay on top and some middle point as an average. It's only helpful to track trends.
Frankly, yours is the first complaint of that nature that I've heard. If you have ideas to improve the survey results, please speak up with details.
The apathy is because there's apathy. We've redesigned the survey multiple times in response to complaints, requests, etc.
You've heard the expression, "You can lead a horse to water ..." (etc.)? That's what is going on here. If people can't spend five minutes to mark a sheet and fold it into a postage-paid envelope, then they aren't interested.
Fine. We tried. We'll keep trying. It's our job to try. That's why we harp on it here. But it's like asking people to participate, to come to union meetings, to serve on negotiation committees. They either choose to do it or they don't.
Life is choices, from start to finish. Hopefully we'll be happy and satisfied with the ones we make.
I, for one, have found the survey both informative and useful. It's an excellent benchmark to know what the average pay is for your job classification, and I used this knowledge to my advantage during negotiations.
I think the survey is very useful
However, I think if an email was sent to every member and a link to an online survey provided, youd see a jump in participation
I sent mine in a few weeks ago though for what its worth
Anon 7:17 am:
We've sent at least three member e-mails to date with a link to an online copy of the questionnaire. The next e-mail is going out today. The response has been good.
That's werid. I have never received an email from the guild. Ever. And Ive been a card-carrying member for years.
How do I get on that list? I'm sure I filled out all the paperwork correctly, and my emails have never changed.
Along with the regular survey results, how about including a supplemental page that lists every individuals salary amount and perhaps even where they are employed. Now that would be interesting and helpful. Why are you saving the employment information for internal use only?
Anon 9:22 am: For the last fifteen years we've have an e-mail list for active and inactive members. Click this link to send me an e-mail to be added to the list.
Anon 9:31 am: The #1 objection I've heard to filling out the wage survey is the fear of other people finding out what you make. Openly publishing the survey results in the individual format you suggest would be counter-productive at best, not to mention a de facto betrayal of the promise of confidentiality we've given to the membership as a condition of their sharing he data with us.
As we've made clear every time we publish the survey results, any member can call me to ask about results broken down by employer, category and/or media. Hundreds of members over the years have called to get a better idea of wage conditions in the specific department with which they're negotiating.
A simple phone call will answer these specific questions without blowing anonymity out of the water.
IMPORTANT: For active or inactive members to be put on the e-mail list, please e-mail me your home e-mail address.
Great thanks!
All I was suggesting, Jeff, is that union members have the same access to wage information as you have. I don't see how anonymity is compromised when all submissions are anonymous and members have a choice whether or not to list where they work. Maybe the apathy would diminish if we could garnish more useful info from the survey rather than what the top, bottom and middle wage earners are making and wondering if it's based on a 40, 45 or 50 hour week.
I agree. I think it'd be cool to include a breakdown of which studios pay more (Dreamworks vs Disney, specifically)
No individual names, obviously, just a range between studios.
It WOULD be fascinating--and useful--to have a ranking of which studios pay most to least.
Please consider ranking that information in the survey.
Plus I think it would be helpful if you guys simply asked "How much do you make in a normal work week?" instead of trying to explain the differences between people who are on 40, 45, and 50 hour contracts. I think a lot of people either don't pay attention to that at all or simply miscalculate because they misunderstand the wording. So because of that, I question the accuracy of the results, which leads to apathy on my part. Just a suggestion.
I don't see how anonymity is compromised when all submissions are anonymous and members have a choice whether or not to list where they work.
If participants know that this level of detail will be given out, then there would be much less information given. If I'm one person in a small department at a given studio, and I see the specific salaries of several people listed in the same department, then I can probably make some pretty good guesses as to who makes what. The realization that, even with anonymity, your specific salary could be deduced would lead to even fewer people participating. Jeff is doing exactly the right thing.
Plus I think it would be helpful if you guys simply asked "How much do you make in a normal work week?" instead of trying to explain the differences between people who are on 40, 45, and 50 hour contracts.
I disagree. The base work-week makes a huge difference. Do you really just accept a salary, and ignore whether it's for 40 hours or 50 hours a week? If, at the time of the survey, someone has been hired to work during crunch time and their 'normal' salary includes 25-30 hours of OT, should they just list the total dollar amount, skewing the results much, much higher?
"If participants know that this level of detail will be given out, then there would be much less information given."
Participants have the choice whether or not to list which studio they work for. If you work for a small studio or department then don't reveal it. Or the survey results could list that information only if a minimum number of participants respond.
I thought the whole idea of the wage survey was to increase the negotiating power of union members by giving them some of the same information that the employers have.
I've started a new post to answer the most recent questions about the wage survey.
I'm confused as to why people are asking for information about pay at specific studios to be included in the survey, when Jeff Massie has specifically stated any member can call and ask about the results broken down by employer, category, and/or media.
So what exactly is the conflict? You don't want to pick up the phone?
The online survey with a link is a great idea and I believe you would see a dramatic increase in the results.
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