Simon Edmondson Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/pixars-ed-catmull-emerges-as-central-figure-in-the-wage-fixing-scandal-101362.html Apologies if this has already been discussed. A friend spotted this. It takes some of the sheen off of Pixars rep as a good place to work. simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted July 11, 2014 Admin Share Posted July 11, 2014 I've been following this (mostly through the TAG blog which has been following this since 2007 or earlier) but it hasn't been discussed at length here in this forum. It all reminds me of the old saying, 'nothing personal... just business' which really means (for the one on the short end of the negotiation) 'this is about to get personal.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 11, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hey! Martin Hash's former Ph.D adviser is in the news! I haven't read that particular article but I've read other recent reports. Pixar has been the lowest paying of the name brand studios for quite a while. I don't suppose their reputation on that front can get much worse, but for well-paid someones like Ed Catmull et al. to be scheming to stop other people from getting better offers for what they do... that may make for some awkward all-hands meetings. But I'll never have to worry about a low-paying job at Pixar anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted July 11, 2014 Admin Share Posted July 11, 2014 Pixar has been the lowest paying of the name brand studios for quite a while. I don't suppose their reputation on that front can get much worse, but for well-paid someones like Ed Catmull et al. to be scheming to stop other people from getting better offers for what they do... that may make for some awkward all-hands meetings. This was a likely impetus for Catmull flying down to talk to Sony. When you are paying low salaries (even market rate salaries) its easier for your employees to be recruited by other companies with incentive enough to pay more. This does get complicated because when an employee leaves these days they take a lot of knowledge and experience with them. I can easily see why corporate heads would be concerned. But a proper response would be let your employees know that if a competitor offers to lure them away with a salary and/or benefits at more than the market rate they might be willing to offer more. But we know it's not as easy as that either.. because salaries can artificially rise that way to the eventual detriment of all (witness the insane amounts of cash heaped upon corporate heads). Some sense of reality must be maintained or it all spirals out of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 11, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 11, 2014 I'd say if the worry is that an employee might leave with valuable knowledge... that's what contracts and non-compete clauses are for. But Pixar didn't want to make contracts, they wanted the illusion that everyone is "at-will" employed and doesn't have to be there. The fabulous advantage of "at-will" employment that is so often recited to anyone who worries about layoffs or unpaid overtime or poor job security is that you are free to leave for a better offer if one comes in. Now we find out that they've made sure those better offers don't happen for anyone who might be liable to get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 I've been following this (mostly through the TAG blog which has been following this since 2007 or earlier) but it hasn't been discussed at length here in this forum. It all reminds me of the old saying, 'nothing personal... just business' which really means (for the one on the short end of the negotiation) 'this is about to get personal.' Rodney. I wondered if that was why the picture of EC appeared to be photoshopped onto a still from The Godfather ? ( That's the first film I recall when the phrase "nothing personal. It was just business" was used, when the rival tried to kill Don Corleone. Which would perfectly fit your description ). I was amazed at some of the US business practices when I worked in the fast food business doing my course at EIU in 79/80. Descriptions I've read of the animation industry since make me glad I'm highly unlikely to be asked there. The various documentaries I've watched have always made great emphasis on how much "FUN" it was to work at Pixar. Wonder if the workers think that in the light of this information ? regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 12, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 12, 2014 We should note that most of this wage-suppression scheme wasn't about animators but about technical, coding expert sorts of people that CG animation studios need to make things happen. Animator wages are already suppressed by the sheer numbers of them out there competing for the jobs. The various documentaries I've watched have always made great emphasis on how much "FUN" it was to work at Pixar. Wonder if the workers think that in the light of this information ? I suppose there's a limit on how far having your own custom decorated cube can go. When I was at Animation Mentor students were always asking the mentors how much they made this or that famous studio and the answer was always something like, "well... I'm not getting rich at it..." There are far worse jobs than being only modestly paid to work at Pixar but for a lot of them that's the choice: Pixar or something far worse and there isn't much in between. Everything between Pixar and stocking shelves at Wal-Mart has substantial competition for the job already in these times. I guess I'm lucky I had my animation career in the minor league of corporate media where the projects were smaller and the pay was better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 This seems to be one of many indicators that Hollywood's system is 'broken'... another would be the July 4th movie ticket sales. I'm really glad I'm not a part of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 We should note that most of this wage-suppression scheme wasn't about animators but about technical, coding expert sorts of people that CG animation studios need to make things happen. http://motionographer.com/2014/07/11/how-pixar-dreamworks-lucasfilm-and-others-kept-wages-artificially-low/ Taken from above link: "Pixar and Lucasfilm had a longstanding, secret agreement to control their computer specialists’ wages and mobility by not recruiting each other’s employees, and by agreeing not to “bid up” salary offers should an employee be considering both companies" I'm not justifying "price fixing" in any way, but in this area (Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay area) wages for technical people are NOT artificially low. It's not uncommon to see people making over $100K, and more like $250K. Yes animators, artists are underpaid (but there is a good supply of cheap labor). Whereas qualified technical people are rarer, in high demand, and can make out like bandits. Most are well aware what the market is paying, and know they are free to move about. Unfortunately, the animation industry (here in Silly Valley) is competing for the same technical bodies as google, apple, facebook, Intel, Nasa, Adobe, Netflix, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, Twitter, Yahoo, HP, ebay, etc, etc, along with the biomedical industry, and other tech & non-tech sectors (who need IT specialists). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 18, 2014 *A:M User* Share Posted July 18, 2014 This is some weapons-grade BS, that's for sure. I wasn't surprised when I found out Jobs was up to these kind of shenanigans, but consider my monocle popped at this revelation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 18, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 18, 2014 I imagine that inside themselves they thought they were doing the right thing for the most number of people and maybe it was. Maybe sort of a "what they don't know won't hurt them" attitude. But when the plan requires keeping a deception secret indefinitely... perhaps they had an over-sized impression of their own importance and power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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