Working publicists earn higher-than-scale pay
In fact, of the 63% of active members who are employed, more than half--or about 59%--are making higher salaries than the Guild minimums.
'Highly regarded'
"I would say that the salaries these people are making are an important factor in determining how highly regarded they are in the studios," said Publicists Guild prexy Henri Bollinger.
The scale for senior publicists working under a producer's contract, which makes up the majority of working publicists, is $ 1,329 per week. Minimums for senior agency publicists is $ 1,171 while senior network publicists make $ 1,032 .
"What we're finding is that a lot of these people are viewed as executives and are being given deal memos that outline various benefits and perks," Bollinger said. "While they may not be in charge of departments, they are often in charge of projects."
474 active members
Currently, the Guild has 902 members nationally and in Canada, but considers only 474 active members. Seventy percent of those active members are based in Hollywood.
"The field is changing for publicists, not only because of technology but also because of the rise of independent production companies," Bollinger said.
"It used to be that once you were hired by a major studio, you had a job for life," Bollinger said. "That has completely changed."
Non-union publicists
With the changes comes a commitment by the Guild to work with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees in addressing concerns about independent production houses using non-union publicity work, he said.
"Right now our members, for the most part, are getting benefits from their employment," Bollinger said. "But now we will be preparing a strategy in partnership with the IA to start unionizing more of the independents. It's one of our major concerns."
