I work as a 3D Artist right now. Over a year ago I applied for a position that was expressly described as a full time, salaried position with benefits at this company. Interviews went great, the Creative Director asked if I wanted to come into office for three days to test working, and I would be paid for these days. I agreed, and came in the following week. The first red flag was the HR manager sending me a 1099 form for contract work. I immediately confronted her asking why I was being given a contract tax form when the position was labeled for salaried full time? She said it should only be for a short term/ trial basis, and the Creative Director would have final say if they felt I would fit in the full time role.
It has been over a year, I have watched other people get offered full time before me despite me contributing the most towards ongoing projects. The company is in a position where if I call out, they get screwed over and projects get delayed. Despite their reliance on me as a worker, they refuse to make efforts to move me to full time. Since I’m 1099, when I bill them, they are not obligated to pay me overtime. Their internal contracts bar me from using works I’ve created within company jobs as personal advertising/ portfolio works. They state in their contracts that freelance workers are free to set their own hours and determine their own place of work, and are only obligated to work in office if the per view of their work requires materials only accessible from the office. Despite having the tools to work seamlessly from home while using their internal systems, they have refused me continuously every time I push for remote work, and have had meetings with me regarding my arrival time in office because their hours are “9a-6p”. They constantly overload and overwork the artists. When I started I had a week of close to 70 in office hours, having to stay one Thursday until 2am to complete a job.
This place has almost made me hate the field I’ve shifted into. I’ve previously worked almost exclusively labor jobs, I transitioned into 3D thinking I’d have more autonomy to find a better balance for my personal life. This place disregards all of that to extract the most amount of work they can from me. The kicker? The CEO/ Creative Director got his role by being the son of the previous owner. The man makes enough money to afford his family a cushy life in a notoriously wealthy part of the city we live in, while I haven’t had a pay raise since I’ve started, I receive 0 benefits and currently don’t have healthcare, and never have enough time in my day to take care of my personal responsibilities. I’ve worked my fair share of shit jobs with shit employers. I’ve worked jobs in the automotive industry where the managers “fix paystubs” so when I went overtime, they were only paying me my standard rate! I haven’t had a job in the almost 10 years that I’ve been in the workforce in the US where I’ve felt an employer appreciated my work and showed that in pay, benefits, and respect for my time as an adult. I’ve been anti-work for a minute, first hand experience plus de-programming will do that. But man does this shit just infuriate me on the daily. They advertised one full time, salaried position, get me into a contract, freelance position, but expect me to work like I’m full time.
Wanted to share my struggles with y’all. Solidarity in this fight is important, I’m learning that more and more. For those who may be asking why I don’t quit, I’ve been looking for more work for a while, places don’t want to hire at reasonable rates, and I’m not shortchanging myself just to get into another shit spot. I’ve considered talking to others about unionizing, but this CEO rotates in artists like it’s nobodies business, some people are so new they don’t know how shit it gets yet so getting that department solidarity is difficult. Not off the table though.