Sunday, March 07, 2010

Missing the Boat

As long as TAG has been in the "union organizing" game, we've had people telling us we'd "missed the boat." ...

Back in 1991, when we lost resoundingly lost a union election at Film Roman, various board artists came up and told us:

"Phil runs a great shop. Everybody's happy there. You ticked people off the way you talked to artists and handed out cards. You blew it."

The above could certainly be true. I was wet behind the ears, and at the time there was a lot of work around, and everybody was being paid well. And nobody at the studio wanted to irritate Uncle Phil (who was a studio owner and well past his union days.) So yeah, we got our heads handed to us.

You could say "we missed the boat."

But time went on, and the sting of defeat faded, and other organizing attempts came and went, some successful and some not. And then in the middle and late nineties other preoccupations developed: The CG revolution got into full swing, and the IATSE and TAG signed a few effects places up, but mostly the visual effects industry stayed resolutely non-union.

And we got mostly nowhere passing out rep cards and standing out on sidewalks trying to wrestle different houses under union contracts. The IA lost a union election at Sony ImageWorks, where people in the know said:

"Kiss it off, guys. CG artists are libertarian. They distrust unions and make their own deals. And they make good money without any minimum rates, so what do they need you for? The Sony benefits are fabulous. You're not going to get anywhere, trust me ..."

In other words, we hadn't just missed the boat, there was no boat on which to climb.

But here we all are, a decade-plus further on, and we hear and read things like this:

... [V]isual effects artists don't receive royalties and residuals. And as one visual effects artist told me, "even in the credits, we're listed after craft services."

...Visual effects artists typically work with no contract, no paid vacation, no benefits, and often no paid overtime. And because of the nature of the work health problems such as obesity, tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are common.

It isn't the high-flying nineties anymore, when viz effx people with production experience were few and far between, and fierce competition between studios for their services gave them money and leverage, and they could write their own tickets.

Supply, as it almost always does, caught up to demand. And now visual effects artists find themselves working longer hours, often as "independent sub-contractors," and competing with technicians in India, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. So perhaps now there is a boat out in the harbor after all. And maybe it's hoisted anchor and steamed away, and maybe it hasn't. I've already heard people tell me: You're way too late to organize visual effects. You should have done that six or seven years ago. You've missed the boat."

But here's the thing about boats. There's always another one. Because unpaid overtime and unpaid wages and minimal pension and health benefits are workplace realities that go on forever, especially when visual effects studios are low-ball bidding movie work that the conglomerates throw at them. In the last year, I've heard a rising chorus of complaints from viz effx artists and technicians who claim to be getting hosed, and getting progressively more fed up about it.

Anger doesn't necessarily lead to labor contracts, but it certainly increases the odds of change. I don't know if a tipping point in the business is coming or not, but I suspect that the odds are much better today than they were in the 1990s. And I imagine some labor organization somewhere we'll start forging contracts.

And that old chestnut about the boat having already sailed? It's true. But there will be another steamship along very soon. There always is.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Considering we are in a state of collective financial ruin, I would definitely conclude that the last White Star Line steamliner called Titanic left the harbor already, and it most definitely is not coming returning.

Floyd Norman said...

Could be.

Yet, the slave ships are still sailing.

Steven said...

These movies are cleaning up. There is no justification or excuse for exploiting artists. The corporations will take whatever we let them get away with. All we need is some unity and political will to change things. Stop complaining-start signing cards!

Anonymous said...

"Missing the boat" seems to be a popular guild theme. It was used publicly on 2D people who chose not to learn CG. I suggest we stop using it.

Perhaps they are missed organizing opportunities but no one missed the boat. The existence of the union makes employers less one sided about pay union shop or not which is good. For that I thank you.

Every case is unique and if a group isn't suffering then they have less of a chance of signing. A smart employer knows that so you didn't lose, you actually won.

The real question is does a union benefit or hurt your chance of employment and what you make . The most effective way of getting those rep cards signed is to provide solid evidence that it helps and is sustainable. Does it take more than that ? I think not.

Anonymous said...

The real question is does a union benefit or hurt your chance of employment and what you make . The most effective way of getting those rep cards signed is to provide solid evidence that it helps and is sustainable. Does it take more than that ? I think not.

Lessee...the longest-standing studios in this industry have tended to be union. So not only do artists get the benefit of a guaranteed minimum wage and hours towards health care at the time of their employment, they're more likely to get work at that studio in the future because that union studio will more likely be still existing in 10, 15, 20 years.
There are exceptions, of course, but overall, look at who's union and still around and look who isn't.

The other factor that apparently needs to be brought up again is that the younger the artist, the less likely they tend to think they need a union. They're more willing to work past a 40 hr. work week, do multiple jobs while only being paid for one, and shine on pesky future things like investments or the need for health care.

But as those young'uns age, they figure out that burnout sucks, their hands need a break from the carpal-tunnel symptoms they're getting, and jeez, it sure sucks that their entire lives revolve around a job for an employer who doesn't reward "loyalty" and "playing the game" by keeping on artists, but instead they lay us off in droves to keep costs down while the profits go up.

Yeah, I can see why not having a union would benefit the artists.

Anonymous said...

If VFX studios don't unionize, I see more and more VFX artists leaving the VFX industry for the safe haven of the unionized animation industry.

Steven said...

<>

Howzzat?? Union membership is not, and as far as I know, never has been a precondition for employment in the animation industry. Proof? Just look around. I'd like to hear the "proof" that union non-membership is advantageous in some way. Go ahead, give it a try.

Anonymous said...

"The other factor that apparently needs to be brought up again is that the younger the artist, the less likely they tend to think they need a union."

Perhaps. But I think younger artists also tend to get laid off on a regular basis, and switch between studios more often (union-shops, games, tv, film, non-union shops). So the 3 thousand dollar union initiation fees and dues can kind of seem pointless and money poorly spent, especially when the studios they work for already offer healthcare, and they'll never use the pension, because I dont see the possibility of working at a studio long enough to really reap the rewards.

Sure, the minimum rate is fine for new people, but many non-union studios have higher minimums than union studios. In fact, every time Ive worked at a union shop, I took a pay cut to work there (but I liked the project)

And not once have I ever worked free overtime at a non union shop, but maybe Ive been lucky.

Im not stating a case for either, but I dont think its fair to say that artists in union-shops are significantly better treated than non-union. I would say each case is individual.

Anonymous said...

So the 3 thousand dollar union initiation fees and dues can kind of seem pointless and money poorly spent, especially when the studios they work for already offer healthcare...

If possible, please list the VFX studios that still offer health insurance. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Digital Domain, R&H, and Imageworks.

MBO-based studios technically offer employees a chance to buy group health insurance, but that's not as nice of a deal as the union health insurance.

Anonymous said...

**Floyd Norman said...
Could be.

Yet, the slave ships are still sailing.**


ROTFLMAO~!

Anonymous said...

"If possible, please list the VFX studios that still offer health insurance."

I think he was talking about Disney. They have health coverage for their employees, but union members cant use it.

I think theres some throwback against the union since its a requirement to be a member at Disney, but not at Dreamworks IIRC

Anonymous said...

"but many non-union studios have higher minimums than union studios."

This used to be true at the higher-end non-union studios in LA. Not anymore. Not by a long shot.

"I think he was talking about Disney. They have health coverage for their employees, but union members cant use it.

I think theres some throwback against the union since its a requirement to be a member at Disney, but not at Dreamworks IIRC"


Please, if you don't know what you're talking about, keep your mouth shut. Both Disney and DreamWorks are union studios, and their animators have exactly the same excellent, free health care, thanks to the Animation Guild.

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