In February, MTV told "permalancers," who it has historically screwed over in a slavey caste system, they'd have to leave at the end of nine months so MTV wouldn't have to provide them costly benefits like health insurance, a tipster told us. Supposedly they could get rehired three months later.

But it doesn't look like that's going to happen, thanks to the economy; staffing levels, especially on the dot-com side, are being sliced, often (we hear) by half.

The freelancers just laid off by the cable network — if you know how many, we'd love to hear from you — have another month to go and have been asked to train their replacements, a tipster informs us. MTV presumably won't have to pay benefits to those replacements, since they're new hires (yes, MTV is hiring while it's firing).

The sloughed off temps might not be able to come back in three months, due to the reduction in positions, but something tells us they might have some luck in nine. Mark your calendars, permalancers.

From: Toffler, Van
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:52 PM
To: M_MTVN__ALL
Cc: McGrath, Judy
Subject: Christina Norman

I am writing to let you know that after 17 incredibly successful years, several brilliant reinventions, multiple VMA's and scores of memorable on-air promos and creative marketing campaigns, Christina Norman has made the decision to leave MTV at the end of the month.

Christina's mark on our company is indelible and it's worth noting that she reinvented herself and our businesses along the way. She grew from a freelance production manager (yes, freelance) to lead all of the marketing efforts for MTV, including the successful launch of MTV2. In 2002, she was tapped to architect VH1's rebirth, gave the world "Celebreality" along with "Hip Hop Honors", and shepherded the network to creative and ratings highs. She brought the same talent and vision when she returned to MTV as President, reinventing our big franchise events - The VMAs and The Movie Awards, ramping up new ways for us to partner with advertisers and worked with all of you to create and define the brand vision for MTV that inspired us and helped liberate our thinking. It pains me to see Christina go, but I respect her decision to want to take the time to explore something new after 17 years, which is pretty much impossible to even think about while running the M.

Christina has led with incredible integrity, creativity, business savvy, perspective, spirit and humor, and she has championed so many important initiatives at our company and in our culture. From the launch of "thinkMTV," to breathing new life into our music initiatives with novel ideas like "52 Bands," to the historic launch of MTV Tr3s, our network for young Hispanic-Americans, to the explosive growth of mtvU and the inspirational work she has done for our company's diversity and inclusion initiative, she has made it happen.

Christina is leaving MTV in its strongest, healthiest, most diverse and vibrant incarnation—MTV's celebrated 16 years as the #1 ad supported cable network for the 12-24 demo, and last year alone MTV.com served up almost one billion videos. And there is more to come in the pipeline from the great team that we have in place. In fact, Christina made it clear that MTV's current creative vibrancy and thriving business provided her with the perfect timing to explore something new. MTV has several TV hits cranking, the fastest selling video game with "Rock Band," and a rapidly growing collection of websites. We're positioned as an industry leader with an array of verticals and Emmy Award winning virtual worlds, and we're shaking up the 2008 elections with "Street Team '08." And may I remind you that Christina does not shy away from challenges - after all, she dared to take a bet to appear on national television with an eye patch, claiming a run-in with an unwieldy mascara wand as the reason for her questionable optical attire.

It has been my great honor to work with Christina and she will always be part of the legend and success of our company. We will miss her and I personally can't wait to see what incredible feat she will conquer next with the same class and tenacity she has exemplified during her many years here. I know you join me in wishing her the very best...

Previously: Freelancers Union Is 'Inconvenient Mess Of An Organization' Says One Member

Billed or not, in possession of an insurance card or not, Horowitz said union members who signed up are covered under the organization's new plan with Empire. Maybe so, but they won't receive insurance cards till the middle of the month and that's got some freelancers concerned. Those who might need proof of coverage before then should head over to the FU's website, where Horowitz has posted a mea culpa and more information.

"We really are desperately learning from this, especially trying to get information to people more quickly," she told us. "A lot of what people are saying is true. I wish our phone wait times were two minutes, that our call system was perfect." Huh! Maybe they picked up some skills from the Viacom boondoggle after all! The FU took about five hours to publicly address member concerns—Viacom took nearly as many days.

Previously: Freelancers Union Health Benefits SNAFU Has Members Fuming

"They gave us three weeks to find new doctors, psychiatrists, etc. I was outraged," a union member told us. "FU bills itself as a savior and friend to the freelancers, but instead it's an inconvenient mess of an organization that seems like it's being run by a third party company that doesn't fully understand what it's doing."

Since the health plan switch was announced, we hear that FU's phones have been so clogged with members seeking guidance from customer service that the department was effectively shut down at certain points during the holidays. In fact, the Freelancers Union seems to have been rather unresponsive since November, according to several reports.

The package on offer to union members doesn't provide dental coverage—the old plan did. "Now I'm forced to switch to a new plan that offers no dental coverage at all, and I can't enroll in separate dental coverage until next fall—ridiculous," a freelancer (perhaps one with children in braces?) told us. "And you thought the
MTV freelancers were screwed." Well...yeah, we did.

Even with the rate bumps under the new plan, the union still provides more affordable health care to its members than Viacom wanted to provide for its permalance army. The FU's new plan covers care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering (the previous one didn't) and offers a larger physician network. And wait a second—the Freelancers Union used to offer dental? Talk about the life of Reilly!

That's not to say that union members don't have anything to complain about: besides this gap in coverage and the disappearance of their dental coverage, the union's new plan will set freelancers back $750 for a hospital stay. Lab tests performed as a result of any doctor's visit are subject to a member's $3,000 annual deductible, which is about a grand more than it used to be. Hey, diagnose yourselves, people! We suggest watching a lot of House or becoming a rabid clipper of the "Diagnosis" column from the Times magazine.

"My wife has doctor's appointments today and I have been trying to get our new insurance ID numbers since the new cards have not been sent," another freelancer told us. "Empire doesn't have my SS# on file and my bank has yet to withdraw the new amount for my bill. I AM NOT EVEN SURE IF I'M INSURED AT ALL!!!" Freelancers are complaining that getting through over the phone to FU (yeah, we know, but nah—too easy) is near impossible. Automatic bank payments meant to go toward health plan deductibles have yet to be processed by FU—the union explained the tardiness to at least one freelancer who repeated it on the nonprofit's site: "They said they are backed up b/c of the holiday." Oh! Well then, we'll just tell that freelancer in labor over there to hold it till you guys get caught up, 'kay? People flooding Empire this morning with calls are being told they don't exist in the HMO's system and that information from only a fraction of union members who signed up to switch health plans has been sent over by the union. According to the November memo, co-pays under Empire are higher across the board than they were under previous provider HIP. Know anything else? Drop me a line.

In this case, unless contractors are hired on as staffers under the newly slightly-more benevolent Viacom, they're unlikely to see even the ass-end of a company-sponsored retirement plan. The legal risks to Viacom are too significant.

MTVN's freelancers aren't the only media biz contractors misclassified by their employers under IRS rules. You ever look at the front page of a newspaper section and realize that nearly all the bylines belong to interns and stringers? Well, um, hopefully you don't, because you have better things to. Sadly, we don't. So we notice!

The same thing applies in magazine publishing, where a freelancer can spend decades (if they're lucky!) contracted to produce a set number of pieces per year for a single title without receiving the benefits enjoyed by employees—Medicare, Social Security and unemployment insurance. Television and web properties grapple with the same issues.

And if you're a business owner, how do you appease the IRS, your conscience and your advertisers all at the same time? Makes us want to take a nap.

Tomorrow, we might, if we feel like it, take a peek at what it's like to freelance for the city's newspapers—the contracts, perks and pay. Magazines and television next! (Maybe. Perhaps we'll just hit snooze till three.) Either way, we'll be asking for your emailed stories about the state of contractorhood.

"The dirty little secret is that they used to treat us like staff but called us freelancers," said a fellow in animation, a "freelancer" of eight years. Another guy who's been there for three years actually left the company for ESPN, where he made more money, but then came back for Viacom's benefits.

So are they really freelancers? "No," said an editor of four years. "Why? Because we come in and work at the same place every day, don't work on equipment we own, have taxes taken out of our paychecks, and report to people who are staff."

"No," said Jesus Sanchez, the Radio-Television Broadcast Engineers Local 212 rep, whose union represents workers at CBS, Madison Square Garden, and United Nations technicians. "They're steady employees, work for a specific company, and have taxes taken out of their paycheck."

But will Viacom listen? "They're gonna have to listen," Sanchez said grimly.

At 3:40 p.m., people inside the MTV studios above the demonstration climbed ladders and closed the curtains on all the windows facing the street.

At 3:45 p.m., NY1 showed up and set up a camera. The crowd got even more riled.

"Call your HR rep every single day and let them know you're unhappy!" shouted a gentleman into a bullhorn. Oh, they will.

And they will also walk out again, both tomorrow, we hear, and then again on Thursday, in conjunction with the WGA. More unions will continue to offer their support, and Viacom will continue to look bad. And suddenly this little cost-cutting maneuver, in a year when Viacom has made healthy profits, won't seem like such a good idea after all.

Elsewhere: Viacom's own blogs are even protesting now.

Previously: MTF WTF
Earlier: MTV Permalance Troops To Attack Holiday Party (With T-Shirts)