Go on over to YouTube™ and spend 2 minutes and 6 seconds watching a montage that drives the point home.
I'll wait.
Did you watch that?
Don't lie to The Blog, because The Blog knows.
All right then.
_________________________________
Now, I don't want to get preachy, here...
[pause for laughter]
But, bullshit.
Overtime pay encourages work ethic, and I can prove it.
For about a decade now, here in Hollywood-land, lawmakers have attempted to pass legislation to limit the hours that a TV or film crew can work.
And for good reason.
It is not uncommon for episodic television and feature films to work 12, 14, 18 hour days.
And working an 18 hour day makes the simple act of driving home a dangerous thing. There have been several cases, in the last 10 years, that film crew members have nodded off at the wheel and gotten themselves, or others, killed.
And, that doesn't even include the fatal mistakes that can happen on the set after 12 hours.
Two guesses who vehemently opposes limiting work hours on TV and Film sets.
That's right.
The crew members and their unions.
Why?
Because, while we, for the most part, make a pretty decent wage, the real money doesn't happen until overtime.
And, as much as we lazy, entitled, union members like a short day, we are stoked to work the extra hours in order to earn some real dollars. So we can, you know, pay our mortgages.
*Case In Point*
Back in the late "90s - early "00s, The Blog worked on, what was then, the lowest paying episodic series on television.
But, because we worked 12 to 18 hour days, Five days a week, your Uncle PC earned more money during those years that he has anywhere else. And, I did so without complaint. Because I knew, when the paycheck arrived, I would receive fair and lucrative compensation for my hard work.
Working harder and longer = better pay.
"Overtime pay undermines work ethic." My skinny, white ass.
*BAM*
And another thing...
Every single one of those blow-dried, hair-sprayed talking heads on Fox are card carrying members of A.F.T.R.A.
So, do not think for a minute that they are not getting "time and a half" if they are on the lot for more than eight hours.
Which brings up one more canard...
They keep talking about "overtime after 40 hours."
That is another odious notion that state legislators keep failing to pass.
But, in most states, that is not how overtime works.
Overtime does not come after 40 hours at the end of the week. The very idea is just insane.
Overtime happens after eight hours in one day. (And really gets good after 12 hours. We in "the industry" call that "golden time." )
Think of it from this perspective...
While the "folks" at Fox "News" are paid obscene wages and collecting union guaranteed overtime and other benefits...
They want you to believe that overtime (and unions) will make you lazy.
I don't know about you.
But, I'm not having it.
No comments:
Post a Comment