Should i Join the Union?

[MIKEROPHONICS]

it would seem LA rates are on a parity with London for the majors for a re-recording mixer - apart from overtime, that is a 'non word' in the uk. Consequence of the almost death of unions in broadcast

Now if we could could have some of your sunshine - it feels like Seattle here...

cheers

[lexaudio]

Originally Posted by Henchman

You just described the working conditions in Vancouver.

And Non-Union LA. That's where the union and non-union make a difference.

In Non-Union, I feel the work suffers because people are just trying to get it done and the producers don't even care about the sound. They just want to meet the bottom line.

Not to say there isn't decent non-union shows and great sound jobs. Some may not be on par money wise as the union, but at least some do put forth an effort to make sure that the sound job is done well and far to the sound team.

[ggegan]

Originally Posted by lexaudio

And Non-Union LA. That's where the union and non-union make a difference.

In Non-Union, I feel the work suffers because people are just trying to get it done and the producers don't even care about the sound. They just want to meet the bottom line.

Not to say there isn't decent non-union shows and great sound jobs. Some may not be on par money wise as the union, but at least some do put forth an effort to make sure that the sound job is done well and far to the sound team.

That happens on union shows as well. Being in the union has nothing to do with the quality of the work. There are some hacks who are in the union and there are some artists who are non-union.

[JohnO]

Yikes those rates seem low to me. I'm making more than that (mixing) non-union.

How common is it to make more than the card rate on union gigs? I'm sure the big names aren't working for $64/hr.

I know of one network where you negotiate your rate when you're hired, the union negotiates yearly increases (NABET).

[myke2242]

Originally Posted by ggegan

That happens on union shows as well. Being in the union has nothing to do with the quality of the work. There are some hacks who are in the union and there are some artists who are non-union.

I bust my a$@ on every job. i do the best with what i have regardless of pay. i just would like to work on bigger jobs. High profile jobs do not come by very often in my world.

For what its worth non-union jobs do not suffer form lack of talent. they suffer from disorganization. Producers who dont understand the process will affect the out come of any job.

[ggegan]

Originally Posted by JohnO

Yikes those rates seem low to me. I'm making more than that (mixing) non-union.

How common is it to make more than the card rate on union gigs? I'm sure the big names aren't working for $64/hr.

I know of one network where you negotiate your rate when you're hired, the union negotiates yearly increases (NABET).

Most established mixers I know earn considerably more than union scale. However, these days rates tend to slide up and down depending on the project's budget and how busy or slow things are. Lately there has been a lot of downward pressure on rates for all but the most elite mixers, but consider that even the worst case scenario of union scale is better pay than what the vast majority of people outside the industry earn. The trick is to keep working consistently. Working at Y1 daily scale for 35 full weeks with absolutely no overtime brings in over $100k.