march2–15, 2020 | newyork 19... a film producer:... a touring agent:It’sa 14-hourday. Yougetin
at6 a.m., andyouleaveat 8p.m.—there’s novariationonthat.
Thereis noovertime.You’rea
salariedworker, whichis,I guess,
howit’ s legal.My dadhelpedme
breakit downsoit’ s basically
minimumwage.WhenI started,
everyone was like, ‘I’m so sorry you
got this job.’ My boss expects there
tobefourorfivephonecallsbeing
madesimultaneously,andhewill
scream and scream if that’s not
happening. You can’t really get up;
there are no real breaks. Every
production job I’ve ever had, there’s
not really a break. You are at the beck
andcallofeveryoneelse.
No oneevergetstrainedinthat
officebecausehe’s constantlyfiring
peopleorpeoplequitwithnonotice.
You’resupposedtowarnhimabout
meetingsandphonecallsanhour
out,halfanhourout, 15 minutesout,
withemails,texts,orbytellinghim
directly in the office. One day, he had
this meeting with two big writers and
hewasoutoftheoffice,soI was
sendinghimemailsandtexts.He has
four numbers on this sheet we have,
and I was calling all of them. He just
blew it off and then he screamed at
me and fired me. He would accuse
me of not sending emails or texts, butI talkedtotheITguy, andhetoldme,
‘No,I canseehimopeningthem.’
I gotphysicallyillfromworking
there. Everyhalf-hour,I’d get
diarrheaandhavetoruntothe
bathroombecauseI wassoafraid.I
wasthereforthreewholedaysbefore
I gotfired.Theotherassistantswere
really nice to me because we had to
be. The assistant with the most
‘authority’hadbeenthereabout three
months.Therewerepeoplewho got
fired in less than a week, less than
a day. When I got fired, one of the
other assistants texted me, ‘This isn’t
you, it’s him.’ But I don’t know
if I’m gonna take another film job.”... a top-tier agent:I did his phone and
scheduling, and the
‘work’ of it was
dealing with contracts. I was
responsible for making sure
people got paid at the end of
the night—very high stakes
and anxiety inducing. A
performer is making
$500,000 for an hour of
work, and I’m doing all the
contract work and making
sure all the terms are
accounted for while making
just above minimum wage.
At orientation, they told us
we would work one hour of
overtime a day and we’re
required to take an hour for
lunch. Meanwhile, we’re all
eating lunch at our desks
and staying until the work is
done. You’re trying to prove
yourself, so you’re going to
shows until all hours of the
night, scouting, and not
getting paid for any of it.
One year, we were supposed
to be out at 1 p.m. for a
holiday, and my boss didn’t
know, so I messaged him to
say I was leaving. Then I
went to the bathroom.While I was sitting onthe
toilet, I heard him shouting,
asking everyone where
I was. He stormed intothe
bathroom to yell at me,and
I had to explain that I was
done for the day and Iwas
going to finish shittingand
go home. He was very
unhappy about it. I got
yelled at mid-shit. After
that, I had to ask to go tothe
bathroom and was
sometimes told no. I was25,
and life was terrible.
It ’s funny. All this time
later, I still feel guilty telling
you this, like I’m betraying
my former boss and the
company’s trust. I’m years
out of it and am doingvery
well, but that’s what theydo
to you. They make youfeela
debt to them, like they’re
doing you a favor. Likeyou’ll
never work in this town
again if you say something.
I was a terrified, little brown
boy making terrible money.
If there was going to bemass
action, it would have tobe
fueled by people of color.
And I wasn’t brave enough.”Like most, I worked my way up from the
mailroom. I started at $30,000. I worked
my ass off to be ‘promoted’ to an agent’s desk.
Everything was fine for a while. My boss was the
one who helped me find an apartment. She gave
me a raise so I could afford rent, showered me
with unwarranted gifts, and sent me out to some
really great shows, events, and screenings.
And then she snapped. It was like a switch
flipped, and to this day, I don’t know what
caused it. She started fabricating things. Once,
she called HR to complain that I was making her
feel fat. She once berated me for telling her
I was unable to DVR shows on Netflix. I distinctly
remember having to put my hands up to protect
my face because I had fallen back onto her couch
and she was towering over me. Not one person
intervened, despite her office having glass walls.
My favorite, though, was when, in an attempt to
get me fired, she said I’d cursed out and hung up on
the company’s CEO. I relayed all of this to HR, who
told me that ‘it’s part of the job.’ I wasn’t fired from
the company, but I was sent back to the mailroom.
My raise was taken away, and I lost all enthusiasm.
HR then called me in to ask why I wasn’t working
as hard as the first time I was in the mailroom.”