USGF

Ma quanto tempo perso nella lotta per il “recupero crediti”!

E’ una “mission impossible” parlare di giornalisti (ma soprattutto di freelance e ancora peggio del problema dei loro pagamenti) sui media italiani. Lo abbiamo visto, tra l’altro, durante le trattative per il nuovo contratto. Se i metalmeccanici o gli insegnanti aprivano vertenze ottenevano paginoni su tutti i quotidiani. Che i giornalisti fossero senza contratto da ormai cinque anni non interessava a nessuno e, al massimo, usciva un trafiletto per annunciare uno sciopero o una manifestazione.

Stessa cosa quando sul Corriere della Sera è iniziata pochi mesi fa  la grande inchiesta di Dario di Vico sulle problematiche del popolo delle partite IVA. Sono emerse le questioni di tutte le categorie di lavoratori autonomi, ma del dramma di chi esercita oggi la professione fuori dalle redazioni nemmeno una riga!  Sfruttati, schiavizzati, con compensi al di sotto del livello sopravvivenza, pagamenti mesi e mesi dopo la consegna. Negati i diritti, negate le tutele.

Altro problema, ma questo riguarda solo noi freelance, l’incapacità di unirci, di sapere quanti siamo, dove siamo, che cosa facciamo. Di confrontarci per studiare assieme le strategie e progettare obiettivi comuni. Questo è quello che l’Unione Sindacale Giornalisti Freelance sta cercando di fare.

Il pezzo che potete leggere qui di seguito, pubblicato sul Wall Street Journal, (per ora in inglese ma presto ne faremo la traduzione in italiano), è un’interessante inchiesta su come oggi una buona parte del tempo di chi esercita la libera professione sia impiegato nel “recupero crediti”. Non manca qualche utile consiglio che potremmo utilizzare anche noi, impegnati in una lotta, pressoché quotidiana, per farsi pagare il dovuto.

Simona Fossati

Unione Sindacale Giornalisti Freelance

More Freelancers Fight to Be Paid

By Joe Light

As more people turn to freelance and independent consulting work, they’re taking on an unexpected role: bill collector.

For New York business consultant Christopher Santini, the pursuit for payment from one client has practically become a second job. Last May, a small business he consulted for went through a merger, and the new company fell behind on payments to him. Now, Mr. Santini, who’s been a freelance consultant since 2008, says he is owed about $35,000, which would have accounted for almost 40% of his annual income last year.

“I started to get the standard run around,” says Mr. Santini. “The secretary would tell me the person I needed to speak to was out. Finally [they] started to ignore me and not return emails or calls.”

Mr. Santini says he has spent 80 hours calling and emailing company officials. He discussed the case with a lawyer, but decided not to bring it to court. Instead, he is still working to get the client to pay up on his own.

About 40% of freelancers had trouble getting paid in 2009, according to a survey released in mid-April by the New York-based Freelancers Union, a 135,000-member organization for independent contractors across the country in fields such as media, technology, and advertising. It was the first year the group asked the question on its member survey. And more than three out of four freelancers said they’ve had trouble getting paid over the course of their career, according to organization.

The problem could become more acute as independent contractors emerge as a more central piece of the work force. The financial crisis and the resulting high unemployment thrust many professionals into the ranks of freelance workers, which may continue to grow despite signs of an economic recovery.

Littler Mendelson, a San Francisco-based employment law firm with 49 offices nationwide, predicts that in 2010 half of previously eliminated positions filled will be filled by contingent workers-such as independent contractors, freelancers, and temp workers-accounting for as much as 25% of the work force nationwide- based on client interviews and a survey conducted by a staffing analysis firm.

Since independent contractors aren’t covered by most federal employment laws, they don’t enjoy the same legal protections on wages as permanent employees, says a spokesman for the Department of Labor. If a permanent employee doesn’t get paid, federal or state labor departments can fine companies and even prosecute company executives. But independent contractors often have to turn to the court system, in most cases small claims, if they go unpaid.

To some, small-claims court can be more trouble than it’s worth, says Sara Horowitz, executive director of the Freelancers Union. Depending on the state, it can take months for a case to be heard. Even if a freelancer wins, small-claims judgments must be collected by the plaintiff.

Even before going to court, freelancers can spend significant time building their case. In January, Medford, Mass., artist Charles Leo sued a California-based coffee shop and kiosk manufacturer for $1,150, the agreed-upon fee of architectural renderings of a coffee shop he was never paid for. Mr. Leo says he spent more than 60 hours creating the renderings-and 40 hours trying to collect payment, gathering evidence and spending time in small-claims court. The judge ruled in Mr. Leo’s favor and ordered the company to pay the fee, but didn’t grant the $850 or so in punitive damages Mr. Leo requested for his time spent on the case.

“It was a piddling amount compared to the time I had to spend pursuing it,” he says.

How can a freelancer avoid problems? Before accepting a job, freelancers can search consumer complaint Web sites like RipoffReport.com and industry discussion boards to make sure the company they’re contracting with doesn’t have a history of late payments, says Kate Lister, a former small-business consultant, and co-author of “Undress for Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home.”

Make sure to have the terms of payment and penalties for being late built into a written contract. Should a firm run into financial trouble, company officials typically give priority to the contractors who have spelled out fee-based consequences for a late payment, says Michelle Goodman, author of “My So-Called Freelance Life.”

After a payment deadline has passed, immediately try to connect with the person responsible for payment by phone. If they don’t respond, send a revised invoice with the agreed-upon fees or interest charges added on.

Where contractors go wrong is when they don’t act fast at the first sign of a late payment. Freelancers “don’t want to look like a jerk, but that’s silly. This isn’t getting a prom date. It’s business,” Ms. Goodman says.

Filing a complaint in small-claims court should be a last resort. As a last step before heading to small-claims court, send a simple letter with the amount, how long it’s overdue and your intention to take it to court, Ms. Lister says, and copy your lawyer, a company board member and any relevant regulatory agencies. A complaint about a broadcast company, for example, could be copied to the Federal Communications Commission, which considers how a broadcaster treats its local community when granting certain permits, Ms. Lister says.

“You have to find those pressure points that will make someone really pay attention to your letter,” she says

Printed in The Wall Street Journal