Terrible pay and management; avoid this company - Control Room Operator Powerstation Events Employee Review

First of all, the pay is atrocious. I have 10+ years of production experience in graphics and replay. They bill clients $500+ per crew position, regardless of whether it's utility, camera, or director, and they barely pay $200 to most crew members. Well below industry standard rates. One day replay will be $300, the next day, same block of hours, same work, only $225. Make it make sense. You sign on as a 1099, but you're required to wear their branded uniform, you're not allowed to invoice them for your work, they just pay you what they want, and don't try to set your own hours — you'll never get crewed again. It's surprising no one has sued them yet. In my opinion, this looks like textbook worker misclassification, and I'd welcome hearing from anyone with legal experience in this area. In my time there, I consistently saw favoritism — friends of the owner booked for crewing before others, regardless of qualifications. The equipment is archaic and barely works. Never have I, the operator, been more capable than the equipment in front of me — machines that won't turn on, graphics machines that can't even load the show, replay decks with broken speed variation controls. I could go on. It saps all motivation to do good work. They'll frequently try to book you with less than 48 hours notice, sometimes less than 24. If you don't drop everything to save them, be ready for possibly weeks without getting booked. God forbid you have a major life event — wedding, birthday, graduation — if it means they have to replace you for a shift they expected you to prioritize, be ready to never get called again. They hold grudges fast if you don't put Power Station first. If you're looking for freelance production work and this company pops up on your radar — run. I wouldn't wish a single day of employment here on my worst enemy.