Now more than ever, light is being shed on sexual harassment present in the entertainment industry and our workplace. People are speaking out about the inappropriate and illicit behavior that has terrorized both women and men by instilling fear of losing job security and opportunity within working relationships. When viewing this behavior through the lens of gender inequality, people in positions of power have used sexual harassment to keep an upper hand in professional relationships, to silence women, and to maintain the gap in an already uneven playing field. These acts have been covered up for too long. It is hopeful to see this collective shift towards rectifying long-held gender bias and sexual injustice in the industry and the workplace.
However, there is another form of gender inequality that prevails in our workplace everyday: pay inequality. And it is alive and well in our industry.
There is an egregious gap within our pay scales that needs to be brought to the forefront of the attention of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). With your help we can demonstrate that our IATSE Sisters and Brothers are in support of fair wages for the important and crucial work being done for your production by the Art Department Coordinator craft.
If you know an Art Department Coordinator (ADC) on your show, film, or commercial, then you know a very hard-working, important, and responsible member of the Art Department and crew. If you’re not familiar with what your ADC does, at
bit.ly/ADC871 is a small sampling of the multiple responsibilities and tasks the ADC completes in order to keep the Art Department running smoothly and efficiently, and to protect the legal and financial interests of the very companies that are fighting against paying a fair wage.
The Coordinator crafts have historically been female dominated crafts. In fact, Local 871
membership records show that IATSE Union Art Department Coordinators are comprised of 80% female members. Is it any surprise then that ADC’s have one of the lowest scale rates of any IATSE covered position in the industry? Did you know that the ADCs' scale rate under the AMPTP contract for TV and Film is $15.39 hourly. In some cases that’s less than a PA, and in all cases its more than 50% less than their IATSE comparative working counterparts on the crew. We believe that this pay inequality is due to a combination of the craft being female dominated, misunderstood, and disrespected for many years.
Film and TV ADCs have been working hard to demand a higher rate and are fighting with Management for acceptable wages. It’s time that we make it known that we are not standing for this unfair wage. It’s time the ADCs' work is respected regardless of the gender bias against the position in the past.
To further highlight the discrepancy with other comparable crew members, here are current studio scale rates for members of our department, and others, doing similar work:
