Jivemaster Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 If you're working in NYS, then labor laws apply and you legally should have been paid within 2 weeks. I was. Seriously, you need to be more demanding about this. Slow pay = out of business in NY*if the workers complain to the authorities.__________________ -Found on a USA forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 As far as I can remember ( and I may be very wrong with what I say), but I seem to recall, there is a heavy Union presence in Theatre / Stage land in the US, as well as many other areas...... It's maybe worth a think as to how that payment term affect us all, as in this instance it could be union regs. Your quick payment, one thing.........BUT!. The strike by the Writers Guild of America, which closed or shortned many a show, and probably left a lot of people out of work. Shows that were affected included Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Jay Leno, just to give a bit if diversity. It was a blatent strike, weather you agree with it or not. Many jobs were posponed or cancelled. At vast expense to the industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsoperator Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (USA poster) Additional notes: many labor regulations in the USA are state-by-state. So there will not be the same rules in NY and (for example) Pennsylvania. But these laws generally protect only Employees, not Independent Contractors. There are huge areas of non-union theater in the US, too. Even though I'm a union worker, I believe there are some theaters that are appropriately non-union. On the other hand, there are theaters that are masquerading as "start-ups" which no longer need "protection" from unions. But you are right in that a big reason theater is highly-unionized in the US is the history of producers absconding and leaving artists and workers unpaid! But consider that there is no national health or pension scheme in the US. Multi-employer pension and welfare is a really important reason for unionization, and it often suits the employer's needs as well. When I was a non-union theater worker, (and this is still true today ... ) vast amounts of non-union theater was done with Independent Contractors. Now, this is frequently a violation of laws that govern the definition of independent contractors (many of those laws are designed to make sure income tax is collected from the producer, not to protect the employees!) But virtually all of my early-career non-union work was as an Independent Contractor. If you have to submit a bill, you can assume that they have classified you (rightly or wrongly...) as an Independent Contractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Hi Obsoperator, Just out of interest ( working the other side of 'the pond') could you give us a little more insight into: So there will not be the same rules in NY and (for example) Pennsylvania. There are huge areas of non-union theater in the US, too. Even though I'm a union worker, I believe there are some theaters that are appropriately non-union. On the other hand, there are theaters that are masquerading as "start-ups" which no longer need "protection" from unions. Now, this is frequently a violation of laws that govern the definition of independent contractors (many of those laws are designed to make sure income tax is collected from the producer, not to protect the employees!) What are the differences from your point of view? Edit to add....... Why should theaters that are masquerading as "start-ups" which no longer need "protection" from unions These venues need protecting.....from what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsoperator Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 What are the differences from your point of view? Why should theaters that are masquerading as "start-ups" which no longer need "protection" from unions These venues need protecting.....from what? Sorry, I can't tell whether you mean <differences> from state-to-state or <differences> between being an Employee and being an Independent Contractor. Or is your interest between union and non-union? On the second question, the quotation marks on "protection" indicates that the word is meant ironically. That is, they think of it as protection but they mean exemption from costs. However, I did correctly express that a tiny theater may be completely unable to operate if it has to employ union actors, musicians, and technicians. As it becomes successful, it should be organized. You may be aware that in order to keep their craft up, Equity actors frequently perform under an assumed name in smaller, non-Equity theaters. Now, I would be liable for a union fine if I were to do stagehand work in a non-union theater. So I don't. But tell me how the typical 17-year old Blue Roomer is going to get any experience and training if there are no non-union theaters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 But tell me how the typical 17-year old Blue Roomer is going to get any experience and training if there are no non-union theaters? ...certainly in the north-east the majority of technicians I met went to college, so presumably experience and training would come through that. The resources, breadth, and budgets available in college theatre in the US is well above that of the UK. Plus, a large number of theatres are used for both college and professional level work, like the Yale Rep, the A.R.T, or the Huntington, which allows students without union membership to actively participate in productions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Bear in mind I have no knowledge of US law.......or regs, or standards, Are the unions helping and protecting you, or are they the proverbial pain in the arse that costs you more than they're worth?, while killing the industry in the meantime, because of their practices? Do you need to be in a union in the US, what are the pitfalls, if you're not a member? Would be interested in further comments as to how the Unions work in the US, and as to weather they do any good, protect their employees etc....or weather they are just another unwanted organization, that complicates matters, and we would all be better off if they didn't exist!. Comments appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsoperator Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 the majority of technicians I met went to college, so presumably experience and training would come through that. Well, I have a B.A. and an M.F.A., but after a thirty-five year career, I can tell you that I wasn't as smart as I thought I was when I finished my education! There is no substitute for on-the-job experience. And it's been my observation that no one in show business wants to hire you unless they see the specific experience they imagine to be necessary for the job at hand. So my comment was directed at job experience, not "book learnin' [sic]". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 My point was more that US colleges frequently have opportunities for students to get on the job experience, rather than learning through lectures. I certainly know a couple of people who were working sound design for the A.R.T, which they only obtained because of the college/pro ties. I was basically suggesting that in answer to your question "how does one get experience in an all-union area", the answer might be through the opportunities vested to them by the college system, since many colleges are attached or strongly affiliated with pro theaters (such as BU & the Huntington). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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