[NEohioPAL]To Volunteer or To Not Volunteer?

Fri Feb 23 19:01:19 PST 2007

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<P><STRONG> I just wanted to say: what about all the  film actors/actresses of Cleveland who are making movies for free? Are the Cleveland directors taking advantage of us? I only got paid for one movie I did and only because it was a Los Angeles production. Independent directors are regular workers with a big illussion: to make movies and they put every effort and every penny they have in their movies, even when none of those pennies are coming from actors. They need money to have a good film/digital equipment, they have to rent places to shoot in, pay an editor, etc... Still when we are shooting they are giving us food. Should we complain for this? I don't think so. We should appreciatte what we got in the Cleveland area. If someone doesn't like it they should try to go to a different state like California or New York. Yes, the "multi-million" dollar company is 
not such, because if it was they would have enough money to pay a secretary. But the volunteers of Mama's Plan are just a group of people who believes in something and are putting every effort to spread their message. We can agree with this ideology of them or not, but they are not hurting nobody by doing this, I would love to volunteer, it happens I love to help people. Unfortunatly I don't have a car and Akron is too far away from me. Please let people be and ask, they're not taking advantage of nobody. If you feel they are gonna take advantage of you it's very easy: delete the email and keep going with your life.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Peace.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Honestly, Silvia Marchena-Guillen                                                            </STRONG></P>
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From: <I>"Lee Kamps" <lee921 at att.net></I><BR>To: <I>"Dawn Jordan" <dajsk8 at yahoo.com>,<neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com></I><BR>Subject: <I>RE: [NEohioPAL]To Volunteer or To Not Volunteer?</I><BR>Date: <I>Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:09:40 -0500</I><BR><BR>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>There are wage and hour laws that too many businesses seem to be ignoring and the Bush administration isn't aggressively enforcing. A volunteer is just that - an unpaid volunteer that signs up for a specific project or event without expecting to be paid. Many non profit orgainzations depend on volunteers to survive. The laws are very strict regarding volunteers versus employees. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If one hires someone not in their immediate family and not a part owner of the business, then they must pay them at least the federal minimum wage. That is the law. Certain people can be hired as independent contractors and not subject to the minimum wage laws like commissioned sales representatives and others hired on a contract basis (like a contractor that hires out carpenters, plumbers, etc.) but paid on a project basis. It is up to the independent contractor to decide whether to accept any contract assignment or job. The IRS has distinct rules between an independent contractor and an employee.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If you hire someone as an employee, then it is the law to withhold federal, state and local income taxes and remit those withheld taxes to the proper authority. An employer must also pay the matching social secirity and Medicare tax as well as withhold the taxes from the employee and remit it to Uncle Sam. Failure to do so results in severe penalties from the IRS that could put a company out of business and send the owners to prison.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If an opportunity is truly a multi million dollar enterprise, then certainly the owner could afford to pay an assistant. Otherwise it is only so much hype and is most likely a scam masquarading as a business opportunity. If it is a scam, then the postal inspection service or other law enforcement authority should be notified. These scams pop up all the time. If anyone is working without pay and is not a part owner or an immediate family member of the owner; then their employer is breaking the law. You should notify the Department of Labor and the state's atorney general's office. You are entitled to be paid for your work. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>When landlords, creditors and mortgage companies will accept promises in lieu of dollars; then it is fine to work as an unpaid employee. However being paid in company stock instead of wages is a fraud and most often that stock is worthless. Stock options to employees and ESOPs are a viable means to attract good employees to start up companies. The best example of that is Wal Mart. When Sam Walton started Wal Mart in the early 1970s, many employees were given stock in Wal Mart. There are a lot of secretaries, truck drivers and cashiers that became millionaires through that early Wal Mart stock.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=980295522-23022007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Lee Kamps</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com [mailto:neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Dawn Jordan<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 23, 2007 3:25 PM<BR><B>To:</B> neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [NEohioPAL]To Volunteer or To Not Volunteer?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>I normally don't wage in on these debates but I am compelled to share my own opinion on this one.</DIV>
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<DIV>I see NEOPal as a wonderful resource for the arts and entertainment community and I want to express that not everyone agrees that requests for legitimate volunteers are to be censored from this list.  I (and many others I know in the arts/entertainment community) have volunteered our time in exchange for learning about the industry, for experience on resumes, or (quite frankly) for the fun of it.  Just because someone volunteers doesn't mean that someone else is taking advantage of them.  I don't want postings censored or for people to feel uncomfortable posting requests for volunteers for fear that they will be blasted for doing so.  Not all requests are legitimate, but most of the people on this list are intelligent, thoughtful people that can tell the fakes and phonies from those who genuinely believe in what they are doing and don't have the 
money to hire someone.  Sometimes volunteers are more reliable than paid employees because they believe in what they are doing enough to not care about payment.  If I volunteer, I usually go above and beyond what I need to do.</DIV>
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<DIV>I am intelligent enough to know that there are no "Million Dollar Start-Ups" unless you are paying a million dollars to start a company.  In which case, you would be able to pay a secretary.  Everyone thinks they have a "million dollar idea" for a business but that doesn't count.  </DIV>
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<DIV>As far as the film, while I may not want to volunteer my time to help them, there may be others that would want to help for experience.  Maybe they agree with what the film stands for and want to help.  Maybe the don't agree with it but still want to help.  How many times has someone requested people to work on their horror film for experience but no pay?  Does that mean that you agree with bloody scenes of people getting hacked up?  No - it means that you want the experience of being a part of the film industry or have some free time and think it would be fun.</DIV>
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<DIV>Everything comes down to integrity.  Everyone posting should give all of the necessary information for the others on the list to decide for themselves.  If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.  </DIV>
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<DIV>Let us make our own decisions.  We are responsible for researching for ourselves whether to volunteer our time or not.  If you have had a bad experience with that person or group that is posting, by all means post what happened to you.  Tell about your experiences but please do not assume that all people requesting volunteers are scammers or try to ban them from posting on this list.  If you do, you might scare away someone whom I might want to help.  Playhouse Square uses volunteer ushers as do many other theatres.  Independent films use volunteers.  Student filmmakers use volunteers.  Does this mean that they are not legitimate because they don't pay?  Not at all.  To volunteer or not to volunteer - that is the question. Please do not make the assumption that I or the others on this list are so unintelligent that we can't make decisions for ourselves. </DIV>
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<DIV>Thank you to Fred, who gives us the opportunity to express our needs and gives the arts and entertainment community an outlet to advertise, share, and discuss!</DIV>
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<DIV>Dawn Jordan</DIV>
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