Defamer
After being informed on Friday that their health insurance benefits had been yanked retroactive to June 1st, disgruntled assistants over at the Innovative Artists agency are deciding whether to stage a sick-out or to burn down the place in protest, driving their insured oppressors into the street and letting every important call go unrolled. Var spoke to one of the affected staffers, who planned to discuss their strategy over lunch today:
"We're getting $100 less than anyone in town, we get no over time and we have to pay for parking which is down the street," said one source, who admitted that staff did get free bagels every Wednesday."Now we have no health insurance. At the Christmas party, Harris was boasting about profits and growth. No one knew there were money issues. Maybe we're young and naïve, but we like to think that the bottom line isn't just money."
After the jump is the text of an all-staff e-mail sent out this morning by company president Scott Harris (forward to us a little while ago, and also featured in the Var story), in which he clumsily attempts to forestall a mutiny by claiming he's in the process of trying to give assistants raises and appealing to their sense of irony about the ensuing benefits-related clusterfuck:
From: Scott Harris Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:39:47 -0700 To: All LA & NY Conversation: Medical Plan Policy Change Subject: Medical Plan Policy ChangeI know that my change of policy is a big issue for many of you as it is for me as well. I have been quite unhappy for a long time with the annual rate hikes that Innovative has experienced year after year after year. Finally this year as it was time to go through this annual procedure I did what our clients sometimes do.....I switched to a bigger insurance agency that appeared to have more power and connections.
After this change things got off to an annoyingly rocky start. After far too much time had passed, I finally got bids from the various health care providers very late in the game. When my new agent presented the choices available to us I was left with a very short window (of time) to evaluate the menu of possible options all of which included substantial rate increases. Among the various unattractive options presented the best two were:
A) To switch to an inferior insurance company that I know would make everyone on the plan unhappy (because they make the claims process a nightmare even though they had the lowest bid by far).
or
B) Figure out how to deal with another huge rate hike without changing companies AND the growing demand I also felt compelled to address this year which is the need to better compensate our assistant team.
I chose to go with option "B" for numerous reasons. One of the key reasons that motivated me to opt in this direction is my desire to have and be able to attract top assistants by better compensating this group. There is not a way for me to both keep the assistants on our current plan and take care of their need to receive higher wages. The amount of the increases is yet to
be quantified but when I do make the determination, I will pay the increase to the assistants retroactively (as of the date that Innovative no longer provided medical coverage). Although this was always my plan I did not want to connect the two issues because I still need to figure out the new compensation schedule for our assistants.This was an agonizing decision for me. I arrived at my determination after seeing many spread sheets of numbers and options and ways to go. I did not involve anyone else in this decision so there is no one else to blame. If I had the luxury of more time I'm sure I could have presented this to everyone in a better way but what is done is done. I apologize to any of you that felt blindsided by this but I did need to deliver in writing this change of policy.
The odd moral to this story is that my changing to an agent at a bigger and more powerful company did not produce the result one would hope for....I hope at least some of you can see the ironic humor in this.
Oddly I hardly received any phone calls from any of you (one of you to be exact) and the Emails I received could be counted on one hand. I did however receive phone calls and an Email from Mike Fleming at Daily Variety who was informed about the Innovative business decision. I enclose below his Email to me and my reply because I see no need for any secrets. There is more that I would write you but much of it is contained in my reply to Mike Fleming at DV. Mike's Email to me is on the bottom and my reply is above it.
I'd like to conclude by saying that if any of you would like to interact with me directly about this, either individually or as a group, I would never shy away from being open minded and listening. I make no representations that I will change my mind but my door is open much wider for your feedback than it would be at other agencies. If any of you want to write me or discuss this send me an Email and I will get in touch next week on the phone or by return Email.
Scott
We don't yet know the results of the lunchtime strategy session, but since Harris has played the "ironic humor" card, he'll have no choice but to laugh and shrug his shoulders should he show up tomorrow morning and be met by a mob of striking assistants pelting him with last Wednesday's free bagels, a symbolic rejection of their last remaining company benefit.
UPDATE: Credit Harris for refraining from repeating this screamer in his all-company e-mail, which he offered as justification for the cuts to Var in an earlier story, and which probably would have resulted in a protest a little more violent than a bagel-stoning:
Harris estimated via email that 50 were affected by the move, which he made after evaluating health care costs. "Most Innovative assistants are very young and do not have medical issues (and hence do not get much value from the coverage)," he wrote.
Comments
"Maybe we're young and naïve, but we like to think that the bottom line isn't just money."
You are and it is.
Too bad they can't go to the burn ward now after having had that massive amount of smoke blown up their asses.
I love his fantasy industry utopia where assistants feel totally comfortable expressing doubts about company policy directly to the top dog.
I love the implication that free bagels totally make up for shitty pay and no benefits or parking. Like those Mentos commercials, where someone violates the social contract in an ruthlessly obnoxious way, but all is forgiven when people see he's got candy.
C'mon, selfish assistants, can't you see how much Scott cares for you? He's agonized for probably ten whole minutes about this. He's suffered irony, people. IRONY. See, it's not Scott's fault. Blame "time", "no one" and "them". Also, don't forget to look yourself in the mirror and blame the real cause of this mess: "you".
I know that I do not speak for everyone in this room or industry, but as an assistant I must say, Fuck you in your heart, Mr. Harris. You deserve only having a roster of CSI corpses and reality show writers.
Is that awful Nancy Nigrosh still an agent there? Whoever her assistant is deserves 100k a year and comprehensive medical and dental for life.
She once crumpled up a letter I asked her to sign and threw it at me.
I just love how he's trying to make the culprit out to be the big bad healthcare system for being too costly! What a joke! Other agencies seem to be able to make the sacrifice so that their staff is covered, why is it so much harder for him.
I used to work at Innovative Artists and Scott Harris is the most greedy, ruthless, selfish person imaginable.
He refused to shut the agency down for the week between Christmas and New Year's, even though ALL of the other agencies are closed. He said, "It would be a great time to catch up filing." He was also AWFUL about giving Christmas bonuses.
When I was there we had to park 10 blocks away and be driven in by a shuttle van. One day I got very sick at work and was coughing up blood. I asked if I could get the shuttle van to drive me back to my car so I could go to the doctor. I was told NO, because it had nothing to do with company business. I walked the 10 blocks with bloody kleenexes in hand cursing that sorry bastard.
Yeah, what do all those young hotties need health insurance for except birth control? :)
RE: Friday's Variety article - I liked Harris' point that he was in Germany to have his knee repaired because it wasn't covered under his plan.
1) I'm guessing his knee is fucked up because of the impressive hours he spends on the tennis courts at Riviera,
2) knowing Harris, the best knee surgeon in the U.S. probably wasn't good enough, he had to have the best in the world and
3) You can bet the rent on your studio apartment that he didn't fly coach to Germany.
Ironic humor indeed.
(His plan must not cover bird cartilage knee replacement)
Stick a bagel in it, Scotty.
JohnD - As an alumni of the Nancy Nigrosh club of abused, my heart goes out to you. Although she did pull me into her office late one night and share some of her "secrets to agenting success" with me. This is of course right after she went Joan Crawford on my ass and grabbed all my office supplies from the drawers and desk - threw them on the floor and continually screamed "You don't need these! you don't need these!" I would say $100K was a low estimate on the psychological traumas alone!!
I'm guessing they can't cut the costs of the "state of the art agency fountains" and the ridiculously small bottles of water they buy just to appease their roster of 100 babies.
You're encouraged to park on streets of Santa Monica, so that when Scott drives by you walking in his beamer, he can wave. I used to put extra special cream cheese on his bagels, every time he waved.
Scott's right about young people not having a tremendous need for insurance. When I was that age working crappy jobs I didn't need it, didn't have it, didn't care. Now that I'm old enough to sprout ass-tumors, I'm glad I'm covered.
All the whining about millions of working adults without health insurance ignores the fact that it's a phase most people go through. You get your shit together, move up and bam! - you're covered. Christ, if you can pour me a tall drip without breaking anything you'll be insured. Do it with a good attitude and I'll hoist thirty five cents into your tip cup.
As a former assistant of Innovative, this is the most egregious and outrageous use of power that I could have ever imagined coming from Scott Harris (and that says a lot having worked there for a year and half). To arrogantly assume (and present as an excuse) that young people do not have medical expenses, WHO DOESN'T HAVE SOME kind of medical expenses, young or old? Why not take insurance away from the agents, at least they can actually afford to live in LA and to pay hundreds of dollars just to visit a doctor for a check up, LET ALONE if they break a bone, which so you know Scott, can happen to anyone, young or old. Needless to say (and I think I am with every old and current Innovative employee on this) Scott Harris will burn in hell for the way he treats his employees. I hope one day his one and only son will be able to experience what being an assistant is like at Innovative Artists, then his daddy can pick up his medical expenses.....
I would imagine that any assistant who took advantage of Scott's open door policy to complain, would be blacklisted from here to Bollywood.
1) By law, he has to provide medical coverage. They cannot be considered "contract" employees. The California labor board is very clear on this matter. (Same with the no overtime policy. An assistant cannot be considered exempt under California's definitions, so therefore, they should be getting paid overtime.)
2) Harris estimated via email that 50 were affected by the move, which he made after evaluating health care costs. "Most Innovative assistants are very young and do not have medical issues (and hence do not get much value from the coverage)," he wrote.
That is the reason you WANT ALL OF YOUR ASSISTANTS ON YOUR POLICY, they bring down the average age and overall decrease your policy premiums. If you have a policy of nothing but old fucks, you're premiums are more expensive you fucking moron.
Call the labor board. Now.
You're comments are very true. Besides just because you are YOUNG doesn't mean something bad can't happen to you! I had a kidney operation in my early 20s!
@TheStarterWife:
@SepulvedaAss: Scott Harris, is that you?
Seriously, I can't stand lame justifications of our country's f-ed up health care system. Yes, most people go without health insurance for some part of their lives. No, that does not make it acceptable.
Will there finally be revenge for the unwashed masses?
Call your labor board indeed.
Bring on the revolution!
I've begun a letter writing campaign - send your letters to:
Scott Harris
Innovative Artists
1505 10th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
CC: Mike Fleming @ Variety (mflemingjr@variety.com) and enclose a dozen of his 'generously' provided Wednesday bagels.
Then put some strychnine in his guacamole.
I wonder if that dude knows he's officially turned into The Man. No, not Da Man, just The Man, Who's Keepin' a Brother Down. Is this guy at all self-aware? If he knows, does he care?
Well, this is hardly surprising coming from a man who revels in making a $0.25 profit every time an assistant must purchase a soda from the soda machine that he owns.
Scher dich zum Teufel, Mr. Harris!
Scott's screwed either way. He laughs at his cheap labor, they riot. He offers up some bullshit story about agonizing decisions, they call him a liar and hate him anyway. He's going to have to spend some time on the company dime going over this with his therapist.
To the assistants, stop killing yourselves with stress about the issue. Key the dude's car, punch his tires, piss in his coffee, and snicker to yourself while he's stressing instead of you.
Scott, fire every single one of them and hire new flunkies before they lynch you. Or, you know, you could be a fucking decent human being and put them on your plan. Might even make it cheaper for the company. Douche.
TheStarterWife: You're awesome. I'm sure you're giving those accident-prone assistants at Innovative something to research for the next few hours while at work; however, it's probably a little short-sited to think that Scott Harris didn't consult legal council while shooting over the ocean cradled in his first-class airplane recliner--legal advice that probably cost more in five minutes than one month of insurance premiums.
As for you SepulvedaAss, I'm not quite sure what to say to you other than what the hell is an "Ass Tumor" and what makes you so sure that "young people" can't "sprout" them just as quickly?
Perhaps if this amazing plan for increased compensation was addressed at the same time as their benefits were stripped away it might be believable and Scott wouldn't have to assess the safest time to return with the lowest chance of a bagel pelting.
In conclusion, Shumina, you're my hero. Sadly, I'm sure the assistants would have done all of the above had their leader stipped their benefits while on this side of the ocean.
You wake up tomorrow morning with a tumor on your neck (Hodgkin's disease strike those under 30) or you're hit by a car on the way home from 10th and Santa Monica, but what the hell-you're young and don't need healthy insurance. If you have any balls, look for another job.
Hey, I just realized I said "you're" and not "your" up there. Rage kills my grammatical skills.
Is working at Innovative even worth this? I could bring up the fact that no matter how much your job sucks, there are 100 other people who want it more than you, but that argument works better for someplace like CAA or Endeavor.
boo hoo..."we get paid $100 less than every other Hollywood assistant" (verifiable false statement BTW as evidenced by my paycheck)
Note to Scott Harris: Hire me. I will not complain about benefits and merely steal the equivalent amount of office supplies to make up for the medical insurance deficiency. We all win. ;)
@SepulvedaAss: Right, and heaven help them if they get hit by a car crossing the street, or if they get caught in a fire, or if they break an arm. Who needs health insurance anyway?
What they should do is
@Colonel Mustard: If my boss gave me a pack of Mentos it would triple my salary.
Dammit. I swear to God I didn't hit send on that last partial post. Let me try that again:
What they should do is go to the doctor for every little thing that happens to them at work. Paper cut? Maybe a doctor should check that out. Ear hurt a little from your headset? Better make sure you don't have an infection. Bang your knee on a desk? Better make sure you haven't sustained any lasting damage to the cartilidge. Milk that worker's comp for all that it's worth. There's your health insurance. And if you do get hit by a car, you were doing something work related.
Hey, Scott, if your rationale for this really was "my desire to have and be able to attract top assistants by better compensating" them, then you are truly the dumbest boss in the biz to think you can do that without offering healthcare.
So now is the time to rise up, assistants. And in true assistant fashion, you can do it all without leaving your desk.
It's called the California Department of Industrial Relations (http://www.dir.ca.gov/) and I'm pretty sure they'd be interested to know about the lack of overtime, as well as all the other fun stuff that's going on (stapler-throwing is a good one to mention, it's evidence of an workplace of intimidation and fear).
I'm not fucking around. Call or email them and watch your bosses squirm and try to cover their own asses for once.
I agree with Desk_hack. Innovative is a low-rent, bottom-feeding, piss-poor excuse for a Hollywood agency. Get out now, kids. If I'm going to be berated at work, it had better be by someone I've actually heard of.
@TheStarterWife:
Geez, SW. :-)
it's okay, you'll show them...when you get strep throat or mono and you keep coming to work and giving it to everyone in the office because you can't afford to 1. take any time off because you can barely make rent on your pathetic salary, and 2. you can't afford to go to the doctor because you don't have insurance and emergen-c isn't gonna cure this one, and 3. you can't take off the time to go wait all day at county hospital because god forbid you miss a call and your boss isn't able to confirm her lunch at 10am on a tuesday.
careful not to choke on those free bagels...
We are over this douche bag.
Scott , what the hell were you thinking when you did this? We are not that stupid, remember you hired us? And thanks for responding to us through the Variety article. It's great to hear from you!! I love that you married your assistant, it's such an adorable love story! Is she contracted? Or is she on the Scott Harris penis sucker contract? I hear the pay is better and provides excellent health benefits. What a lucky gal!
Cheers to an Innovative Con-Artist,
Rosa
I'm so glad I no longer work for that gap toothed, crappy assed suit with sneakers wearing, dickless, sonofabitch. Don't worry Innovative Kids, Karma will bite his yoga-devoted ass and refuse to let go until it has drained him and his company. You are young (and healthy, apparently) and can move on to the bigger and the better, which you will if you are smart. He, on the other hand will someday suffer a malfunction with his hydraulic-lift desk, get stuck and have no assistant to come and rescue him. Cheers motherfucker!
With Love,
A Former Member of the Bull Pen.
I love the way he's doing this because he wants to attract "top assistants". .. because, ya know, if you're a "top assistant" you're going to take a job with a d-list agency /eyeroll.
I spent two days temping there and I can attest that from the 2 seconds I met him he's one of the biggest douch bags ever.
What more can i say but Scott Harris' Chicanery is only once again illustrating the weakness of his company how there is truly no foundation...his i dont give a PHUK about the welfare of my employees attitude has now come full circle..Mr. Harris will be confroted by the LA TIMES nd NY TIIMEZ and Mr Michael Moore..ill be sure of that...i think social services and the goverment nbeed to look into his labor laws because im sure he owes overtime retroactively to anyone employed @ his company he illegallly factors in overtime into employees paychecks...he instead factors it into the salary..which has too be illegal employees work a minimum of 45 hours a week and often more during pilot season so its time to get properly compensated for those hours SALARY + overtime!!!
SCOTT HARRIS..you started a WAR you and ur 130lb green goblin lookin ass can never win or finish!!! Ur company is week and marginal and you rape and pillage from your employees so you can make HOME IMPROVEMENTS..u pathetic lil man..u deserve to go back to HS n get bullied again and have some WRESTLER beat u into submission n choke u out n give u califlower ear!!!
Holy crap. I thought the only places that didn't offer parking* were multi-level marketing sweatshops. Besides, where else to go for lunchtime quickies?
* free parking, because the other kind isn't "parking"
I worked at Innovative for a couple of years. That agency is not worth it. Really, what can a $22,000 salary buy you...a subway pass. You can't even rent an apartment in Manhattan. So paying 400 dollars for your insurance and any other health payments, you'll be living on the streets. He's taking his anger out on the assistants since all his top clients leave him when they become big time A listers. Without assts, Innovative will go out of business. Did he take that into account? Are agents really going to put out there own calls with auditions. And without insurance you're choices for employees are people who can only work there because their family supports their income.