They Did It Again!
Filed under: MTV
Hundreds of employees at MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and all the Viacom properties walked out again on Tuesday.
Click here to see pictures of all the protestors and their clever signs.
Frustrated workers are protesting for benefits and health insurance for the "permatemps" that have been at the company in some cases for years and aren't getting shit.
We're told that protests will be happening in Times Square every day this week outside the TRL headquarters at 3 P.M.
We encourage EVERY single Viacom employee to walk out and support your colleagues this week. Remember when you were temping there for a year or two without benefits????
Go out and lend your support! Everyone. Viacom employees, tourists, whomever.
Perez supports you!!!
Posted: December 11, 2007 at 7:46 pm
hiiiiii im ashley
go go go
hb lkj
1st BITCHES!
yay, i got second..just sayyyin
first…always wanted to say that
way to go!
first
first
will it ever end!?!??!?!?!??!
third?
First !!!
dope
Not everyone thinks like you dear Perez.
SUCK IT MOTHER FUCKERS
first?
if you don't like it, quit.
dont care
1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nickelodeon is a dump
stinking like shit on olive that's burbank yall
rue the day you work at that shithole
and their insipid braindrain cartoons
primero?
third
First? maybe….hope they get what they deserved
TV IS JUST AS GREEDY AS THE FUCKING MUSIC INDUSTRY. MOTHAFACKAS, TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES WITH RESPECT!!!!
I HOPE THEY LOSE MILLIONS WITH THIS BULLSHIT!
JUNIOR VASQUEZ FOR 2008 PRESIDENT!!!!!!!
FIRST
daniel arnold! is amazing at photography!! perez, do more with his work!!!
it's not whomever.
i'm all for workers' rights, but if you take a job as a "freelancer" you take it with the knowledge that you are not receiving the benefits offered to the company's full-time employees. At any point when are are unhappy with this, you should see other employment. Also, there is a freelancers union through which you can get health insurance.
hey, perez, is that another advertisement for your special on vh1? they're owned by vicom. why don't you put your money where your mouth is?
I have the same issue at my workplace, but now that my company is bankrupt I really doubt I will ever see benefits–even paid sick days! It fucking sucks!
HA! I graduated HS with the guy in the first picture. Good to see someone's done something with their life after good ol' HDJ.
Screw them, they have the right to work and the right to quit but it is bullshit when they hold an employer hostage and sue them when they are terminated without good reason
i've had a few friends who've worked there. i always wondered why they didn't all strike… it's ridiculous. they get all these eager, young people who want to work in TV and then exploit the hell out of them for years with long hours, very low pay, and no health insurance.
haha i like the sign which instead of "MTV" it says "WTF"
haha i like the sign which instead of "MTV" it says "WTF"
I love the WTF/Mtv sign
you're called a temp for a reason. Working at a place for 2 years as a temp? You are not an employee, you are a temp. If you want benefits etc….get a job.
That is the whole point of being a TEMP - higher pay - no benefits - you don't like it then get a perm job!
Wow now I get it. That 2nd picture explains it all. Nickelodeon has emo kids working there. WAAAAA WAAAAA…Bitches
Perez supports you!!!! Good God!!! Give it a rest! Who the fuck are YOU??? If you really supported them, you'd be out there picketing with them or paying their fuckin' salaries!
all of these people who who write "get a real job" don't understand that working in tv production on a show might be years of work, but with no benefits. many of us work long hours (10-16 hours a day) on shows for MTV that make the network MILLIONS of dollars, yet they are too cheap to pay us what is required by law in other professions. this new policy by mtv networks will take away our 401(k)s, medical, dental, and holiday pay! it goes into effect on 12/22–that's right, three days before christmas.
Re: sdg – A "permatemp" is not the same thing as a "freelancer." Companies routinely use "temps" and temp agencies specifically to avoid paying out for health insurance and other benefits. Some people can temp at one company for years and never get hired into the company itself. It's just another way for big business to screw the little guy. Freelancers, who are self-employed, work when and where they choose, it's not a regular gig. Temps work for temp agencies and they can work 40 hours a week for a different company every day, which is what temps were originally supposed to be for, to fill in temporarily. But since big business discovered it's cheaper for them, they have abused the system. I think Viacom should stop paying so many millions to executives and give their "permatemp" workers what they deserve - namely a permanent position and health insurance!
Tough. That's what you get when you freelance or temp somewhere.
It's what you sign up for. NO ONE as a matter of course gives freelancers benefits. That's how companies keep their operating expenses down.
It's the same in advertising.
And here's another thing they don't do: PAY YOUR TAXES. Yep, you pay your share and theirs. That's why freelancers charge high day rates.
It's the business, people. Don't like it? Get a real job then.
Who gives a fuck.
there is a difference between being a temp for a few days or weeks (of course you don't get benefits) and being a freelancer (who is working full time for years). working in tv and film is competetive and a lot of us don't want to work freelance and would LOVE to get a cushy staff job, but we need experience to get those jobs so we have to slave away at crappy mtv. of course i am referring to the young twenty-somethings that work there. those peeps who work freelance and are in their 30's and 40's…well i don't know why they do it.
Hey, thats me with the angry face!!! Awesometown!!
Re: G – You really have no fucking clue, do you? These big companies abuse temp agency employees by never hiring them in as a permanent employee because they want to avoid having to pay out benefits to them. It's their way of working around the system to screw the little guy. It's not that the temp needs to "get a real job." There are no "real jobs" out there (or very few) anymore BECAUSE the big companies are getting permatemps with the agencies. Do you understand this concept? If you were a big company with no regard for your workers, you would hire temps, who aren't really temporary, because economically, it makes more sense. Then you can give yourself a bigger executive payraise and bonus because you screwed someone out of health insurance. People today can't just decide not to take a temp job because they can't fucking afford it, they have bills to pay like everyone else. So if that means you have to take a shitty temp job that pays $10/hour and no health insurance, you do it because you still have to put food on your table. I'm sure these abused permatemps would love to have the luxury of getting a "real job." If they were out there. Which they arent'. The other employees are striking to support them because they realize that it could just as easily be them as a permatemp. It's called compassion, asshole. Some people (like you) are so fucking idiotic.
UNION TRASH DESERVE NO PAY
All this time striking could be used for them to actually get a job with benefits. If you take a temp position, you know you don't get benefits. I'm sorry I don't feel sorry for these people. Hope they get replaced by other temps who have the brain to understand a temp position doesn't give you the right to have the same benefits as an actual employee.
FOR COMMENT ON 36, 37, …WHEN U GET A TEMP AT THESE TV STUDIO AND PRODUCTION COMPANIES THEY TELL U YOU'RE GOING TO BE TEMPING FOR NO LONGER THAN 6 MONTHS THEN AFTER 6 MONTHS YOU'LL GET HIRED ON AS STAFF WITH BENEFITS…IF YOU'RE WORKING THERE FOR 2 YEARS AND YOU'RE STILL HEARING THE SAME SOB STORYING ABOUT NO SHOWS ARE BRINGING MONEY BUT YET THEY CAN PAY THE TALENT MILLONS OF DOLLARS…THEN YOU'LL BE STRIKING TOO…THE MAJORITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY OPERATES LIKE THIS..THEY WANT YOU TO USE YOUR 50,000 DOLLAR OR MORE COLLEGE EDUCATION TO GET PAID 10 DOLLARS AN HR WITH NO HEALTH INSURANCE, NO VACAY PAY OR SICK DAYS AND HAVE YOU WORK LONG HOURS JUST TO BRING YOU ENTERTAINMENT…NOT FAIR AT ALL…SUPPORT THESE PEOPLE!!!
Perez, you are indirectly employed by viacom with your vh1 show. yet you're still begging people to watch your show…how hypocritical.
Get back to work you lazy bastards…I need my entertainment and you're fucking it up for me!
snick!
Pay well. Give benefits. Stop taking advantage of well-educated, young people. Boycott everything Viacom.
Greedy people wanting more, more more. Fire them all. They knew what they were getting when they signed on to the job. Unions suck the economy dry. They have become too powerful–the very antithesis of why they were formed in the first place. Then they just keep demanding everything, with out a thought for the cost. That's why the economy is going to go down the shitter–because unions demand more than they deserve. Especially teachers and government workers. They are the biggest crybabies. Let them save like the rest of us. No more pensions, etc. Fuck em
Re: mike – waa waa waa—cry–we still don't give a fuck
they should just fire them all and go back to playing music videos like they're supposed to. their "reality" shows are a joke. sounds like viacom was very generous with their longterm temps up until recently. no benefits? that's the real world for temps all across the US. just not feeling sympathetic.
well-educated young people aren't entitled to anything. if you don't like your professional situation. leave. or go back to school. twentysomethings with a degree are a dime a dozen.
just to clarify- permalancers are people who have been at mtv networks for more than a year and become eligible for benefits. say for instance- HYPOTHETICALLY, someone who has worked their ass off for 5 years there, earned their benefits, is considered an "employee" in the eyes of the law, and all of a sudden feels like the floor is being pulled out from under them.
this photographer is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The agency that places these "temps" are the EMPLOYER - they are the ones that should be offering the benefits - increase their bill rates - the "CLIENT" ie VIACOM, etc., will pay more if they are forced to. The CLIENT obviously has a need for this type of worker so they will pay more if they dont have a choice! It is the same in every industry that offers temps/contractors/travelers etc. - the worker needs to find an agency that values them and knows that the worker is the "product" and therefore needs to be valued as such.
They hired me as a in house temp and said I would become full time in 3 months. It never happened. I left after 10 months and my boss was pissed. What do they expect when they don't give people benefits. They will work you at Viacom but they don't care for their employee's.
I interned at MTV News almost a decade ago while in grad school for film. It was an absolutely wretched place to work. Everyone hated each other and was backstabbing each other. Each rung on teh totem pole shit on the people below them. It was an absolutely terrible experience. Then to make matters worse, the asshole who was teh intern cooridinator tried to give me a failing grade because I left after fulfilling my hourly obligation to shoot my thesis film (and giving him advance notice) instead of slaving away for another month. I HATED working at MTV and I wasnt even an employee… I guess a lot of idiots think it's "cool" to work at MTV for peanuts but cool doesnt cut it.
It's simple. In NYC, these staffers are a dime a dozen. I say fire them and hire the next guy!
I support you, employees! I worked at MTV as a freelance P.A. and eventually had to quit and find a more boring job, as I saw there was no way I was ever gonna make ends meet or get benefits from that crappy company. Viacom, you should be ashamed- your employees often work 24/7 for you and deserve better!!
Andrea0121@gmail.com
I worked at MTVN for six years. In fact, I was there when they decided to give benefits to the freelancers. he freelances have HAD benefits for 10 years or more — the issue is that they are taking AWAY what people have enjoyed for a decade. The reason they employ freelancers is that the majority of them work on shows that won't continue… they start, they die. There is no guarantee that shows will continue, the company has no idea how big a staff they'll need, or for how long.
Freelancers MAKE THAT COMPANY WORK. Staff jobs at Viacom (over 80,000) are still hard to come by if you want to get hands-on experience in the industry without prior credentials. It's very sad….
When they originally rolled out the program, freelancers had to have had a year under their belt to qualify for benefits, then they reduced it to 90 days… now they've eliminated it all together.
I can't imagine the company is doing THAT poorly… that they can't support these people: most of whom are making $15/hr in Manhattan.
(sigh)
PS: DON'T KNOCK NICK: without Nickelodeon, MTVN would've tanked. They have 8 of the top 10 shows ON CABLE every week (counting all programming, not just childrens)
Thanks Perez! Us freelancers at MTV proudly support you but raise a big finger to Viacom. The other detail about all of this is we all work full time and actually overtime, but we get paid for a "35" hour work week so that the corporation can escape the legalities of having to provide their full time employees with benefits. We are once again the scapegoat to cut costs at a multi billion dollar corporation. IT's BS and I was so happy to see you have this up on your site!
You have a VH1 show, Perez… will you be out there?
the young and educated, don't work for companies without getting benefits and decent pay. end. of. story. eventually, you'll get what you're worth!
I worked at MTV for 2 years, interned my entire year before I began working. In order to get benefits we had to work a FULL 52 weeks. WHen you dont work a day, you dont get paid. No sick days- nada. I worked way more than 40 hours and never got any overtime. There were nights I slept over at an edit to accomplish work. Viacom needs to get there shit together!!!!!
These people are F-ing idiots. I worked for MTV Networks for years as a freelancer - which is exactly what they are - and after a year of continously working there…you GET insurance. And they are EXCELLENT benefits by the way. For the most part, NOBODY in the industry does this…VIACOM does…. Count your blessings fools!
Re: sdg –
yea freelancers dont get benefits fine…but what they do is illegal- take it from a former. You work in a full time position, for years- no benefits- anytime after 6 months of full time work you are entitled to benefits by law. What they are doing is illegal, wrong and they dont care- we're all disposable.
Just getting what is LONG overdue. They routinely underpay/overwork/under report hours. Viacom is getting off lucky with a strike. What they deserve is a class action lawsuit like Walmart.
Have your people call my people and we'll do lunch, mmm-kay? Thanks, babe, you're beautiful. Buh-bye now.
Hello - you can buy health insurance on your own - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield! I think people just like to strike now because they think it's the cool thing to do.
WHY DON'T PEOPLE PROTEST BUSH
WHY DON’T PEOPLE PROTEST BUSH
Re: noopurz – yes…do you still work at Viacom? Have you been to a recent discussion about the benefits cut? well if so, get your facts straight, the benefits that the are offering now, are not very good..and it's no longer that you qualify after a year, they are calculating your hours…so get your facts straight before you point fingers…..
M-T-T EQUALS EM-TEE-PROMISES!!!
(you ruined christmas!)
M-T-V EQUALS EM-TEE-PROMISES!!!
(you ruined christmas!)
Hmmmm… Just a thought…. If you don't believe that your job is paying enough, QUIT! Go jobsearching, and get another job!
But no, this is America, land of bitching and whining.
Perez' show is on VH1…maybe he should take time off and go protest.
Hey, maybe Castro (who isn't dead) can join him…and all those mentally challenged people he likes to make fun of.
Re: Sean Gresens – Pinko riot on a pink web page - how appropriate. Give those mofos some dental benees! Have you caught a whiff of their breath in MTV2's online dept? PEEE-EWW! Smells like freakin' bum-mouth in there! If not for them, do it for the people who have to share the elevator with them.
wish that many people were out there protesting the war in iraq… with media coverage
these whining bitches need to shut the fuck up, suck it up, and get back to work.
MTV and Nickelodeon both suck these days, so these employees don't need to act like they are a valued asset or anything.
I agree, those permalancers should just buy their own insurance. After all, decent health insurance only runs about 300/month for a single individual. Why, that's only 3600 a year unless you want to do something outrageous like have a family. And what's the value of a 401k. I mean, why should people who are W2'd be allowed to put aside pre-tax money for retirement anyway. For that matter, why should these little invaluable people even be allowed to retire at all? I mean, that's just lazy. If they were really hard working, good, worthy of even associating with Americans they would just produce our product for the rest of their lives and be happy that they contributed a pathetic amount of something. What else they could they possibly need the time for? In fact, there are 168 hours in a week, who created this 40 hour work week rule anyway? Why not a 50 hour work week, like Viacom is demanding? Better yet, there should be no such thing as overtime, it should be hour for hour until the job is done. And if they don't like it well then they should just find another job, you know in all those free hours they have to go look for one. They can take unpaid days off for job interviews at some other company that will imitate our standards.
Thanks for your support Perez! For all of you on here talking smack about the freelancers, you have no idea what goes on inside Viacom's doors. I interned for 3 months unpaid, and then filled an empty staff position - yet I was still hired as a freelance employee - and told I would be converted to staff in six months. I worked circles around my predecessor in the first two weeks, and two years later I am still freelance. Our daily pay rate is embarrassing for New York City standards. We work 50-60 hours a week minimum, nights, weekends, holidays with no overtime pay. We are forced to put 35 hours on our time sheet even if we work over, because that's just how it is. The expectations are so high and there are no rewards. Our only reward, if you call it one, is telling your family and friends that you work for MTV, VH1 or Nick.
Stay strong and keep fighting, but remember that this isn't the end of the road. There are a lot of other media companies out there that give two cents about their employees. Keep your heads up and fight for what you believe in!
It's not whining and bitching, it's called negotiation. You know, when you walk in to pick up your invite for the holiday party and your boss slashes your benefits and pay rate, you have to negotiate in an equally dramatic fashion. Terra, by your logic, no one should ever ask for a raise. But I'm sure there's plenty of people at Viacom looking for a new job in the mean time.
You people are morons for not sticking up for yourselves and not moving on to something else. You are not a temp if you are there for years on end, your a sucker. I work in both the film anbd television industry and you have to stick up for yourself and take it on the chin sometimes. All you idiots are getting what you deserve, you always complain years and years down the line, never when it first becomes a problem.
I love how because Viacom is an entertainment corp everyone is telling these guys to get back to work and stop bitching. Just because its entertainment doesn't mean it isn't a lot of hard work you stupid fucking assholes. I'd like to see you commit to something for five years, being guaranteed a position and then have nothing to show for it.
Oh, and I love the people who say unions suck, especially teacher's unions. Because people who dedicate their lives to teaching other's children shouldn't be protected against being mistreated.
God how can you be that fucking stupid?
Perez…sometimes you do things like post videos from Tina, and I can't help, but watch and giggle and cringe at your judgement. But sometimes I think your heart is truly in the right place when it needs to be.
Perez…sometimes you do things like post videos from Tina, and I can't help, but watch and giggle and cringe at your judgement. But sometimes I think your heart is truly in the right place when it needs to be.
Re: nobody – I agree. If this were General Motors or Nurses, people would probably jump on the bandwagon (Although both of these careers having a higher starting salary than entertainment).
this is why we need to vote for KUCINICH. so we can ALL get healthcare!!!! dennis4president dot com!
umm…quit and get a better job.
Lets all whine about what we dont like about our jobs lets all atrike thats GREAT for the economy. whine whine whine.
Re: Get it Right, G – OH MY GOD…where on Earth do people get the idea that they are OWED ANY FUCKING THING IN THIS WORLD? You took the job without benefits..if you don't like it now..LEAVE. This is unbelievable.
I have a newsflash for you buddy..IT IS NOT THE JOB OF A CORPORATION TO TAKE CARE OF YOU..it's THEIR CHOICE. If they don't want to, they don't have to. This is how they do it. If you don't like it you can leave anytime you want. It's called FREEWILL.
Yeah, Perez "supports" you Viacom freelancers!!! You know how he does? By being a paid employee of Viacom by having his own idiotic show on VH1.
Real supportive, Perez. Hypocrite much?
FUCK!!!! MTV deserves it!!!! i don't give a shit about sickelodeon!!! i watch only SPONGEBOB!!! LEAVE SPONGEBOB ALONE!!!!!
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE BENEFITS OF THE JOB, START YOUR OWN COMPANY THAT GIVES ITS EMPLOYEES AMAZING FREE BENEFITS, 3 WEEKS OF PAID VACATION, PAID FAMILY LEAVE, AND ABOVE AVERAGE WAGES AND THEN WONDER WHY YOU DON'T MAKE A PROFIT.
Way to Go!!!!! It's good to see LABOR flex some muscle!!! I'm all for them and encourage veryone to support these employees. In this industry with so much wealth, it is a shame that people stilll are exploited.
good for everybody!