Test-day Pay

JPNola

JPNola

Veteran
What are you experiencing with being paid for days where you are required by a client to get COVID testing?

I estimate that roughly only 20% of the time does the client compensate you for the time and for your not being able to take another job that day. The times I was compensated it was $250 a pop. Or “probe”, in this case.

I had to have been tested over 100 times at this point. I was tested 4 times last week alone, 4 days in a row.

Vax doesn’t mean you’ll test less, fyi. Not yet, anyway. If they start requiring proof of vax in order to be able to work, things could get ugly. I hope that does not take place. And maybe it won’t. I have started to more have jobs where they did not require any testing.

How weird that we are paid for our snot. I confess- I did not see that one coming.
 
Same here, stipend of $250/day for testing on non-work days. On union jobs this appears to be standard from my experience and what I've heard from others. Were the 80% that didn't compensate you non-union gigs?

Current show is 3 PCR's a week. Previous one was 5 rapids and one PCR for a total of 6 per week.
 
I have a client out in LA and when we talked about it late last year, he said the same thing Charles did, it’s a $250 stipend out there. But it’s all over the map in the non-union freelance world. I’ve been lucky on some and they either coincided with a previously booked work day for the client or a travel day, so I got a full days pay. I’ve also had a few where I had to make a 45-60 minute round trip to get tested with no extra compensation, except for I couldn’t work for them if I didn’t get tested(network that all talent is SAG and everyone has to be tested at least once a week before being around them). I’ve also had rapids on-site morning of for shoots and I’ve had PCR tests couriered to and from me at home.
 
“ Were the 80% that didn't compensate you non-union gigs?”

Yes, Charles. Non-U.

The Union thing doesn’t work for me. For a variety of reasons.

Part of not getting compensated for Covid testing is on me. When a production company requires I be tested I haven’t requested compensation. We let a lot slide in my world.

Probably 40% of my testing has been on my personal health insurance and at no cost to clients.
 
You know the testing they require when I work at NIH, USAMRIID, Hopkins, and UVA GIDI (for global infectious disease institute where they research the durned thing)?

A temperature check.

No gloves, no constant disinfecting of equipment, no face shields.

The production industry is mostly silly, run by lawyers, grifters, and the eternally malinformed and paranoid. So if they say they won’t pay for my jumping through their hoops, I hike a few other charges to overcompensate. If they respect my time, they wind up paying less overall.
 
JPNola said:
“ Were the 80% that didn't compensate you non-union gigs?”

Yes, Charles. Non-U.

The Union thing doesn’t work for me. For a variety of reasons.
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Oh interesting. From your previous posts it seemed like you were on set for union shows...no?
 
JPNola said:
Yes, “on set” ...of the shows. But not on the shows.

Marketing for the studio. BTS and media set visits.
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Same here, after joining the Union, seeing and experiencing first hand what an organized crime syndicate looks like and how it functions
from the inside, I took to permanently ignoring their pleas for more money and dues with literally no return.

Ex-union, recovering non union freelancer.
 
puredrifting said:
Same here, after joining the Union, seeing and experiencing first hand what an organized crime syndicate looks like and how it functions
from the inside, I took to permanently ignoring their pleas for more money and dues with literally no return.

Ex-union, recovering non union freelancer.
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Suggest we be less hyperbolic and more professional.

And, c’mon, you know Charles and others here are not only in unions but strong advocates.

All I said it that it doesn’t work for ME.
 
I live in a right-to-work state and don't do any "union work", or at least not enough for it to matter(have to join). BUT (historically), even in the freelance, non-union world, we have(had?) benefitted from things that the unions fought and negotiated for.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Doesn't bother me, I leave that stuff to the mods.

Strong advocate? mmmmm no comment.
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Okay, I should have said “Charles and many others here are Union-members and some are strong advocates.”

My point that the extreme language is better avoided, stands.

________

No one wants to be characterized as being a member of a criminal organization.

That’s insulting to forum users who have been helpful and friendly. Insulting to our unionized brothers and sisters in the trade. To the very people who I am certain have been accommodating and welcoming toward him when he was on a tight set and needing access to get his BTS. Uncool.
 
I just took it as a comment on the officers of the local, not the members, or maybe unions in general, etc. I probably should be standing up for my "brothers and sisters", as we say, but as you may have noticed I don't generally engage in tussles in this forum...anything online, really. Too busy frying other fish.

I try to be as accommodating as I can to BTS crew and still photographers. Promoting our jobs is very important and they are hard-working individuals, as well as colleagues. I never did EPK work per se but I spent plenty of time slinging a Betacam so I can relate. The last BTS person I worked with I'm now mentoring a bit.
 
I've sometimes charged clients $100-$200 for my time to get tested, sometimes they offer, sometimes I ask and they refuse (which I don't typically fight because $100-$200 is small fish to fry in relation to the project's overall budget), or if they've already maxed out their budget as is I may not make a point to charge them. Half the times I've been tested the client provided on-site testing the morning of the shoot which was part of our 10 hour day, so it didn't take any extra time on my end. Once I had to drive 45 minutes to get tested, but the other two or three times I just drove 10 minutes and got free local testing with 48 hour results. Pretty simple and not so time consuming. It's not like I've ever needed to turn down work in order to get tested. I feel the most time consuming part is researching where to get tested, but once you have that down it's pretty easy. I've only had to get tested six or seven times out of the perhaps 90 shoot days I've done since COVID started, so most of my shoots don't require it.

I'd heard the earlier tests they really shoved the swabs far up your nose to the point it was quite painful, could cause bleeding, headaches, etc., so the first time I was going to get tested I was pretty apprehensive about it, but they ended up not needing to push it up so far so it wasn't that bad. Apparently the newer tests don't need to go as far up. Pretty much every time I've gotten tested I was able to hold the swab and push it up as far as I was comfortable going, so I didn't have to worry about someone else shoving it beyond what I was okay with.



CharlesPapert said:
Too busy frying other fish.
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Not to get too far off topic, but I respect your opinion and wondering how you approach this matter.

I've been frying fish lately more often and sometimes I'll get pre-seasoned fish at the grocery store, and pretty much just add extra virgin olive oil (which some say not to fry with as it can burn but I haven't seemed to be having issues with it), fry it on a pan on the stove (I often leave the gas stove on high the whole time to speed up the cooking process) for around 10-20 minutes until the meat thermometer reads 145 degrees, and then it's all set. If it's not pre-seasoned I may add salt, pepper, maybe garlic and onion powder, and then while eating it, lemon salt.

I've had mixed success (sometimes it turns out pretty good (but not great) and other times mediocre) so far but feel I can improve my fish cooking skills as adding fish to my diet is a good alternative to say red meats or eating chicken every day as my dinner meat. So how do you fry your fish?

And what types of fish do you recommend for frying? I've just been picking up random types I see in the fish section. Think I last did salmon, but I've got some cod I put the freezer before it expired which I'm planning to do next. The fish and chips type of cod I get from the restaurants still tastes better than anything I've cooked so far, but they also have that probably unhealthy breading that I'd probably want to avoid to stay healthy. I feel like I haven't tried baking fish yet, so perhaps I should try that too. I recently started baking green beans and peas and have found I prefer that over frying and boiling.
 
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Eric, that all sounds tasty and I'm heading over for some fresh fried fish.

The fish I'm frying is all metaphorical...I have rarely made fish at home (love fish but it can stink up the place but good) but I usually broil it when I do.
 
Catfish or tilapia dredged in a little mix of ground pork rinds and “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning, then pan fried, in butter or lard, manages to stay quite keto and neato if you’re into that sort of thing.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Eric, that all sounds tasty and I'm heading over for some fresh fried fish.

The fish I'm frying is all metaphorical...I have rarely made fish at home (love fish but it can stink up the place but good) but I usually broil it when I do.
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I most recently cooked Salmon. In the pan, almost like a steak. Season only with some salt this time. Quite a bit of butter, I tilt the pan so that I can circulate the butter onto the top of the fish, almost cooking it on both sides at teh same time. The butter drizzles toward the low end of the tilted pan, and I use a spoon to scoop it up and pour onto the top of the Salmon. This also prevent the butter from burning but allows it to caremilize nicely.

I had zucchini with caramelized onions, the Zuchnnini had a slight char. Then it was topped with crisped cilantro and sour cream. all together it was a lot of rich flavor. with the Salmon.
 
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