Fashion Models Sue Management Agencies for Exploitation, Labor Law Violations

Modeling agencies sound like Hollywood producers and Washington DC politicians. Where are humans not being exploited?  Are tenured faculty exploiting ambitious graduate students?

[From article]
Eight of the biggest modeling agencies in the world are going to court next month to fight a case that threatens to lay bare the horrors of the modeling industry.
If successful the suit could see thousands of models compensated, cost the agencies in excess of $100million and change the way they do business forever.
Daily Mail Online has spoken to models, including several bringing the suit against a series of agencies.
The agencies - Wilhelmina Models, Wilhemina Models International, Elite, Click, MC2 Model and Talent Miami, MC2, Next and Major Model Management - represent the biggest in the modelling world.
All have told of how they experienced a world where sexual harassment, pressure to have cosmetic surgery, eating disorders and drug abuse are common.
But it is the agencies' alleged circumvention of labor laws that forms the basis of their case.
There are claims of thousands of dollars deducted from their paycheck in spurious 'expenses'; extortionate rent charged for model apartments; late or missed payments and interest charged on advances that keep all but the most successful girls indebted and dependent on their agency.
The case is to be strongly defended by the modeling industry, who say that it would devastate them and that the claims are baseless.
They say models get a fair deal, and that claims of financial wrongdoing are entirely untrue.
The case began when Louisa Raske, who began her career while a sophomore at high school, noticed her face on a box of L'Oreal hair dye in CVS. She had never been paid for its use.
'I was with a lawyer who was a friend. So we questioned it. My agency said they couldn't find me. I was like, that's impossible,' she told Daily Mail Online.
The image had been re-licensed for use across various territories and the same had happened to numerous girls.
Louisa explained: 'I contacted the other girls and we were like, 'Let's do this.'
New York attorney, Christopher Kercher, took on the case last spring.
'We realized this was about much more than just some agencies withholding payment. This was about the whole business model,' he said.
Now 35 and living in Miami, Raske was a sophomore in Atlanta, Georgia when she was spotted.
She said: 'All you can think about is you're excited to be a model. When you're 14, 15 you don't think twice about money.
'It's such easy prey and on top of that a lot of the girls are coming from Europe or Russia and don't speak English.'
In the US agencies take 20% commission on every payment made to models.
They also take an additional 20% from the client in a finders' fee, so on a $1,000 job the model makes $800 and the agency $400.
There are then expenses deducted - with the biggest cost housing.
Raske lived in a model apartment when she moved to Miami after signing with Next.
She recalled: 'There would be eight to ten girls and they'd charge each person $1,200 to $1,500 per month. They might be paying $3,500 on the apartment if that.
[. . .]
According to model Rachel Blais the problem is not limited to the agencies named in the suit.
Despite the fact that she was in regular work Rachel recalled living on $75 a week in New York.
[. . .]
'When I was 19 my agency asked me to have liposuction. That's how they also get you into big debts. They pay for it but then you owe them.
'When I said I didn't want liposuction they said they had put together a little list of photographers I should be 'hanging out with,' wink, wink, sleep with.'
For Rachel the slide from financial into sexual exploitation is very real.
She explained: 'I've been to clubs in New York where I've seen the supermodels partying with their agents. But I've also seen girls struggling and what they ended up doing.
'There's this culture of normalizing the use of your body to make money. Escorting or however you want to call it.
'I don't know a single girl who hasn't been told you're going to be the next supermodel. You're going to make lots of money. So this creates a lot of expectation and you're young, so you keep going, you keep hoping and you keep getting exploited.'
Today's suit is not the first time models have sought to take on the agencies.
In 2002 six Californian models brought an antitrust suit against eight major agencies: Elite Models Inc, Ford Models Inc, Wilhelmina Model Agency Inc and five other New York based agencies.
According to attorney Andrew Hayes who represented the models: 'The claim was that the agencies had agreed, in the 1970s, to all claim to be exempt from the New York law that limits their commissions to 10% of the models' bookings.
'The basis of the exemption was that the agencies were "personal managers", and not booking agents.
'This was absurd because the 'personal manager' exemption only applies for managers who are only incidentally involved in securing bookings for their clients.'
Lorelei Shellist, 57, was among the models. Now a designer, author and empowerment coach living in Los Angeles, she said: 'I knew that I wasn't going to retrieve any money because the statute of limitations had already run out. But I didn't care. I wasn't doing it for the money.
'I was doing it because I wanted to advocate for the newbies, because they were double dipping, they were taking these extra expenses as well as overcharging girls for being in their books and whatever other charges. Nobody had your back.'
She said: 'If you asked questions you were considered trouble and they'd show you the door.'
She recalled: 'I lived in an apartment outside of Paris that was owned by [Elite agency founder] John Casablancas.
'There were five of us in that apartment and I remember him coming up with some 15 year old Swedish girl and them going into the bedroom together and then him coming out about an hour later. That girl was working like crazy after that.
'There were favors. That's part of the exploitation.
'The girls that were doing well were going out with the agents and the photographers.'
Carolyn Fears was also in the 2002 suit. Now 46, Illinois born Carolyn was 19 when she signed with Ford and moved to New York. She recalled: 'I didn't know how bad things were until I got my first paycheck.
'There was a $1,500 deduction. I went up to my booker and I said, 'I was just curious what this was for?'
'I didn't know that Eileen Ford was standing behind me. And she said, 'You listen here missy. I don't see you on the cover of Vogue.' I was terrified they were going to fire me.'
Carolyn later discovered that the fee was for her inclusion in Ford's book.
She said: 'It sounds like a legitimate expense but if there's 100 models in that book and they're each paying $1,500, how much does that book actually cost?
'When I once told them I would like to see receipts they said it's not possible.
'You never knew what your paycheck would be and I never saw a single contract showing how much any client actually paid.'
Eventually the agencies settled. Andrew Hayes recalled: 'In total a settlement fund of over $20million was set up. A few thousand models submitted claims and each model received 100% of their allowed claim.'
There was also, he said, an injunction which 'required greater transparency by the agencies in negotiating their contracts with models – specifically, telling them that the commission rate was negotiable – and requiring the agencies to provide documentation of the expenses and other charges that would appear on models' statements.'
If the experiences of the models bringing today's suit are representative of industry practice, then the injunction seems to have had little impact.
Speaking today Andrew Hayes said: 'The costs of the litigation had the effect of clearing out some of the old guard. John Casablancas [who died in 2012] sold to Eddie Trump [who is unrelated to Donald Trump] and the Ford family also sold.
'But it's been over ten years so perhaps it's not surprising that there has been some serious backsliding.'
Lorelei Shellist describes this 'backsliding' as a 'slap in the face.'
However the model industry is fighting hard against the case.
Former president and partner of Ford, Joey Hunter – who began his career as a model for the agency - has little sympathy for any of the models or their claims.
In a staunch defense of big agencies he dismissed the picture of systematic abuse painted by the models in both the forthcoming lawsuit and the suit, in which Ford settled, in 2002.
He said: 'The should be focusing on the scams that exist not the legitimate agencies. We give a print out with every check. You can go to the accounting office and get a print out of your account.
'We're taking chances with them. We feel that they're going to work. We front the money. A lot of these girls never pay their debt. Nobody sues them for it. We take it on the chin.
'I'm not saying that there's not an agency out there that could be ripping them off. But if I speak for the big agencies believe me nobody's ripping them off.'
And Robert Hantman, attorney for MC2, said the current lawsuit is without merit.
He explained: 'We have proof that the models were paid on time and any expenses that were deducted were reasonable.
'Financially this [suit] would devastate the modeling industry. Models are developed. They're not generally born.
'They're developed and when they're developed they're making no money. The modeling agency's advancing money for apartments, head shots, transportation, trying to help subsidize them till the reach the point where they can make money.
'This case is nonsensical, it lacks logic, and it urges a result which would destroy the modeling industry in New York. It's just absurd.
'He added: 'I can say this MC2 will never pay a penny and if this isn't dismissed we're going to try the case to its conclusion.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3601621/Sex-work-pressure-cosmetic-surgery-drug-abuse-eating-disorders-fake-fees-agents-Hell-exploited-models-revealed-landmark-court-case.html

EXCLUSIVE: Sex for contracts, pressure to have cosmetic surgery and lose weight, fake fees by their own agents - 'Hell' of exploited models to be revealed in landmark court case
World's biggest modelling agencies face bombshell claims as they try to fight off lawsuit which could cost $100 million
Former and current models claim they were ripped off by the agencies with fake fees and bogus expenses charged against their earnings
Agencies say the class action could devastate their business model and is baseless
One model tells Daily Mail Online she witnessed one boss sexually exploit a 15-year-old girl who was 'rewarded' with more work
Models claim they were put up in battery farm conditions then charged a fortune for the privilege
5'11, 110lb model was told to have cosmetic procedure to slim her thighs
Different model was told to dump her boyfriend while he was serving in Afghanistan - and take up with an A-list celebrity instead
Another was on $10,000 a day shoots - but her blue-collar father in Ohio had to send her checks for the groceries she was so hard-up
By Laura Collins For Dailymail.com
Published: 08:43 EST, 24 May 2016 | Updated: 15:47 EST, 24 May 2016

Deleterious Effects of Sen. Edward Kennedy's Immigration Act of 1965

 

[From article]
Democrats haven’t won any arguments; they changed the voters. If anything, the Democrats have stopped bothering to appeal to Americans. The new feminized Democratic Party says, That’s too bad about those steelworkers in Ohio losing their jobs, but THERE’S A WOMAN AT A LAW FIRM IN NEW YORK CITY WHO DESERVES TO MAKE PARTNER!
Republicans should be sweeping the country, but they aren’t, because of Kennedy’s immigration law.
[. . .]

 

More than 30 million of Obama’s votes came from people who arrived under Teddy Kennedy’s immigration law; fewer than 10 million of Romney’s did.
The 1965 act brought in the poorest of the poor from around the globe. Non-English-speaking peasants from wildly backward cultures could be counted on to be dependent on government assistance for generations to come.
[. . .]



As of 1970, there were only 9 million Hispanics in the entire country, according to the Pew Research Center. Today, there are well more than 60 million.
We’ve already taken in one-quarter of the entire population of Mexico, most of whom seem to live in Los Angeles. For the last decade, nearly half of all felons sent to California’s prisons have been Hispanic, according to the Department of Corrections.
[. . .]



No country has ever simply turned itself into another country like this.
With the media cheering the end of America and businessmen determined to keep importing cheap labor, Democrats don’t even bother hiding what they’re doing.
[. . .]



The Democrats got the voters — and the country got 9/11, Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon bombing, clitorectomies, an explosion of gang rapes, child rapes, sex tourism, slavery, voodoo, Russell Brand, billions of taxpayer dollars stolen in Medicare and Medicaid scams, an epidemic of heroin deaths, soccer, bankrupt school districts and hospitals, overcrowded prisons, and endless tax hikes to pay for all the immigrant services, as small town after small town goes all-Mexican, or all-Somali or all-Hmong.
[. . .]



The cultural left is overjoyed at the remaking of our society into one that is poorer, browner and less free.



These changes are entirely the result of government policies that were never debated, much less put to a vote. Americans have not been consulted on the question of whether to turn our country into some other country. Never mind what we’re doing. You’ll thank us later.

http://humanevents.com/2015/09/30/the-war-on-america-turns-50/?utm_source=coulterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

The War on America Turns 50

Ann Coulter
Wednesday Sep 30, 2015 7:15 PM

Chinese Factory Employs 90 Percent Robots Increases Efficiency

[From article]
In Dongguan City, located in the central Guangdong province of China, a technology company has set up a factory run almost exclusively by robots, and the results are fascinating.
The Changying Precision Technology Company factory in Dongguan has automated production lines that use robotic arms to produce parts for cell phones. The factory also has automated machining equipment, autonomous transport trucks, and other automated equipment in the warehouse.
There are still people working at the factory, though. Three workers check and monitor each production line and there are other employees who monitor a computer control system. Previously, there were 650 employees at the factory. With the new robots, there's now only 60. Luo Weiqiang, general manager of the company, told the People's Daily that the number of employees could drop to 20 in the future.



The robots have produced almost three times as many pieces as were produced before. According to the People's Daily, production per person has increased from 8,000 pieces to 21,000 pieces. That's a 162.5% increase.
The increased production rate hasn't come at the cost of quality either. In fact, quality has improved. Before the robots, the product defect rate was 25%, now it is below 5%.



http://www.techrepublic.com/article/chinese-factory-replaces-90-of-humans-with-robots-production-soars/

Chinese factory replaces 90% of humans with robots, production soars
Changying Precision Technology Company in Dongguan city has set up an unmanned factory run almost entirely by robots. The factory has since seen fewer defects and a higher rate of production.
By Conner Forrest

July 30, 2015, 11:30 AM PST

Not Just Republicans Who Want Cheap Labor, Harvard University Too

[From article]
Maybe the greedy businessmen now running the Republican Party should talk with their Hispanic maids sometime. Ask Juanita if she’d like to have seven new immigrants competing with her for the opportunity to clean other people’s houses, so that her wages can be dropped from $20 an hour to $10 an hour.

[My comment]
Maybe The President and Fellows of Harvard College should talk to Hispanic workers, who are unemployed while Harvard pays illegal aliens to do maintenance and construction on their property. Why are illegal aliens permitted to join a criminal harassment project of Harvard's medical school professors and graduate students harassing a 70-year-old white male citizen with a legal disability? Why do illegal aliens get special treatment while citizens are criminal abuse victims of the most prominent university in America?

http://www.humanevents.com/2013/06/12/coulter-if-the-gop-is-this-stupid-it-deserves-to-die/

Coulter: If the GOP is this stupid, it deserves to die
By: Ann Coulter
Human Events
6/12/2013 06:19 PM

Breaking News: Man Uses Rake To Gather Leaves In Cambridge

This shocking image was captured in Cambridge MA on Saturday November 17, 2012. This man refuses to adapt to the modern world, and the benefits of technology. He uses the old fashion method of gathering fallen leaves, a rake. How long was that thingy hidden in the basement? After all that work of the Cambridge City Council regulating leaf blowers, and lobbying by the landscaping companies.

Cambridge Fired 150 Workers

Cambridge Fired 150 Workers

Passing the order directly to the Planning Board, the City Council may have violated a state law. (Erin Smith, "City vows to stick up for 150 fired hotel workers," Cambridge Chronicle, December 28, 2006)
Mass General laws Chapter 43, Section 107 states, "Except for the purpose of inquiry, the city council and its members shall deal [...] solely through the city manager, and neither the city council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the city manager either publicly or privately."
The penalties are severe -- fines, prison, removal from office and never being eligible for public office. [full statute below] The current City Councilors do not know Robert's Rules of Order and they do not know their legal limitations.
They appear to be out of control regularly violating their oaths of office. They imitate the legislative leadership at the state house.

--
Roy Bercaw, Editor
ENOUGH ROOM
Cambridge MA USA

Mass General Laws
CHAPTER 43. CITY CHARTERS
PLAN E.-GOVERNMENT BY A CITY COUNCIL INCLUDING A MAYOR ELECTED FROM ITS NUMBER, AND A CITY MANAGER, WITH ALL ELECTIVE BODIES ELECTED AT LARGE BY PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
Chapter 43: Section 107. Interference with city manager by council forbidden; penalty Section 107.
Neither the city council nor any of its committees or members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from, office by the city manager or any of his subordinates, or in any manner take part in the appointment or removal of officers and employees in that portion of the service of said city for whose administration the city manager is responsible.
Except for the purpose of inquiry, the city council and its members shall deal with that portion of the service of the city as aforesaid solely through the city manager, and neither the city council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the city manager either publicly or privately. Any member of the city council who violates, or participates in the violation of, any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, and upon final conviction thereof his office in the city council shall thereby be vacated and he shall never again be eligible for any office or position, elective or otherwise, in the service of the city.

* * * * *
City vows to stick up for 150 fired hotel workers
By Erin Smith/
Cambridge Chronicle Staff
Thursday, December 28, 2006 - Updated: 05:31 AM EST
The Radisson Hotel closed last month for renovations, leaving about 150 hotel workers jobless and the City Council vowing for revenge. City councilors are hoping to stall condo construction plans at the hotel until the new owners agree to play nice with union workers. City councilors Anthony Galluccio and Marjorie Decker also asked the city’s law department to draft an ordinance that requires new hotel owners to rehire all workers after a hotel is sold. “The workers were told that the hotel was permanently closing down,” said Brian Lang, vice-president of Local 26, which represents the hotel workers.
[...]