Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PayUpHollywood
Most recents (6)
HI ALL! I was busy all morning but now I’ve got TIME so buckle up and settle in for a #IALivingWage #IASolidarity mega thread. Grab some popcorn and crack your fave La Croix, because I’ve been on the ground in the Local 871 negotiations committee and I’ve got A LOT to talk about.
The support and solidarity I’ve found in the committee, throughout our local, and from our IATSE brothers and sisters at large has been remarkably empowering and encouraging, so much so that I volunteered to speak publicly to the AMPTP regarding our #IALivingWage initiative.
What follows is that statement, slightly abridged. I fear it mostly fell on deaf ears, so I wanted to share it here. If nothing else I hope it shows anyone struggling to make it in Hollywood that you are not alone and that we are fighting hard to make things better for all of us!
Some of you may be aware that the IA and AMPTP are resuming negotiations July 6th. In light of this I'd like to share a THREAD about what we are working to get the AMPTP to acknowledge. #IASolidarity #PayUpHollywood #Local871
871 Represents a variety of crafts from Writers Assistant and Script Coordinator to Script Supervisors, APOCs, Art Department Coordinators and even Teleprompters. We are mostly female and our #ReelEquity study found we are paid much less than men comparable crafts.
.@IATSE believes that no union member should make less than a living wage, but currently four 871 crafts' (Writers Assistants/Script Coordinators/APOCs/Art Dept. Coordinators) base rates FOR A 52 WEEK YEAR fall below the LA Dept. of Housing's low income threshold.
Been working hard on something that means a lot to me, so a thread is incoming!
Some Hollywood TV studios came after the pay of lowest-level assistants & support staff after the pandemic hit. For @vanityfair, I talked to 20+ industry people abt what happened, 1 studio changing course & why this affects marginalized folks most severely vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020…
Many assistants I spoke to said their income fell by a third to a *half*. And these folks were already not making much. And contrary to what some above them might think, for support staff, working remotely *not* easier/faster +
vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020…
vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020…
Inspired by #PayUpHollywood, I took my agent's and manager's assistants out for dinner to talk to them about the way they and their colleagues are treated.
Please read.
A few takeaways, not in any order:
Please read.
A few takeaways, not in any order:
Most agents and managers have no idea how hard it is for assistants to make ends meet.
Even if they understood, it's unlikely they'd self-reflect and increase assistant pay, absent a push from assistants/clients/society at large.
#PayUpHollywood
Even if they understood, it's unlikely they'd self-reflect and increase assistant pay, absent a push from assistants/clients/society at large.
#PayUpHollywood
No assistants intend to remain assistants, because being an assistant means long hours for little pay. They see their job as a stepping stone to a different job. This could change if assistants were paid fairly.
#PayUpHollywood
#PayUpHollywood
Some thoughts on #PayUpHollywood: Yes, showrunners need to advocate for higher pay for assistants but very often the studios will just give you a flat no. Here are a few other ways to make a difference that may be not have been mentioned yet.
I buy my assistant lunch and coffee every day. It saves them hundreds per month.
I read my assistants’s scripts and give detailed feedback. Believe me, I’m tough but supportive.
NEW #PayUpHollywood story: I spoke with over a dozen writers' assistants and script coordinators. Here's what they told me about the union, alleged punitive measures from studios, and 30-cent-an-hour raises. 1/
variety.com/2019/tv/news/p…
variety.com/2019/tv/news/p…
“Once we unionized, my medical expenses went down from about $10,000 a year to $300 a year,” said WA Olga Lexell, who has Hashimoto's thyroiditis. “I went to see my doctor, where my co-pay used to be $65 under the studio plan, and it was only $5. And I cried. I was so floored.”2/
Lexell, like many who spoke to @Variety, cite access to health insurance as one of the biggest benefits of unionizing under IATSE Local 871.
“It’s been incredible,” she said. “Honestly, if we hadn’t unionized, I don’t know that I would still be working in this industry.” 3/
“It’s been incredible,” she said. “Honestly, if we hadn’t unionized, I don’t know that I would still be working in this industry.” 3/
