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    Guy signs up to volunteer with Super Bowl pre-game production company and quickly figures out they are being used as unpaid stagehand: ‘It would have been nothing to slap people with $100 for 5 hours’

    Unpaid physical labor for a HUGE corporation at one of the biggest global monreymaking events is exactly what comes to mind when I think of volunteering. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I'd prefer donating my time to puppies or, say, people in need and not a giant company.

    Or like one guy said in a comment that summarizes the whole thing: "This is like being asked to volunteer at an investment bank."

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    • Man wearing a beanie unloads professional camera equipment from a wagon beside an open SUV trunk in a parking lot, handling hard equipment cases during an outdoor photo or video production setup.
      via Kyle Loftus

      Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    • I volunteered for the Super Bowl. Here's what happened.

      A group I'm connected with got a request for volunteers for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday pre- game.
      via Tripwir62

    • Big events love to dress up exploitation in a slightly shiny costume and call it an opportunity. The Super Bowl is the king of this game. It is a giant money machine built on ads sponsorships and hype that can afford to pay people but still likes to round the labor cost down to zero whenever it can. The trick is very simple. You take hard boring work like moving heavy stages and then you sprinkle it with words like access field experience and behind the scenes. Suddenly free labor feels like a backstage pass instead of a low wage job.  

    • The request comes from a local production company that has the job of producing the Player Introductions part of the show.
      via Tripwir62
    • In its request, the company was very specific in saying you will get to see no part of the game itself.
      via Tripwir62
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    • Fair enough. But it seemed like an interesting thing to do, so I signed on. The work itself involved pushing large rolling stages from a staging area about a mile away from the Stadium -- then setting them up, and pushing them back.
      via Tripwir62
    • Straight, uncomplicated, blue collar labor. About 100 people showed up, and dutifully did the rehearsal on Thursday.
      via Tripwir62
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    • Man wearing work clothes pushes a rolling tool cart loaded with power tools and safety gear along a city sidewalk outside a modern building, with pedestrians and storefront entrances in the background.
      via Jon Tyson

      Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

    • They will rehearse one more time on Friday, and then the game of course is on Sunday.
      via Tripwir62
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    • But what hit me last night was just how fucking exploitive this is. There is perhaps no event on planet earth that is more utterly commercial than the Super Bowl.
      via Tripwir62

    • The setup is smooth. A production company sends out a call for volunteers. They promise you will not see the game but you will be close enough to the stage lights to feel like you are part of the show. The glamour is just strong enough to make people forget the word free is doing all the heavy lifting. You show up stand in lines push equipment reset props and smile because you technically walked where cameras will later live. The event will make billions. The volunteers will get tired legs and a story they can tell once.  

    • How dare they even ask for "volunteers." It would have been nothing to slap people with $100 for 5 hours.
      via Tripwir62
    • But because there's an ounce of glamour in it (yes, you get to see, and walk on the field) they fully leverage that for free labor.
      via Tripwir62
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    • I ended up feeling totally grossed out by the whole thing, and I don't think they'll have me for the next two days.
      via Tripwir62

    • What makes this feel gross is not that people wanted to help. It is that the whole thing leans on the idea that exposure counts as pay. When a company can afford multi-million dollar ads it can also afford a hundred dollars for a few hours of labor. Turning employees into unpaid extras because the event sounds cool is less about generosity and more about using the word volunteer as a discount code. The real magic trick is not the halftime show. It is how easily people sell their own time for the chance to breathe the same air as the spectacle without ever touching the paycheck.

    • Mrowser1 You say it's a local production company that asked for the volunteers. Isn't it most likely the Super Bowl IS paying the production company, but the production company just isn't passing along any of that money to the volunteer workers? I think the local company is the one doing the exploiting.
      via Tripwir62
    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply Absolutely agree. I was only making the point that they exist within a highly commercialized system.
      via Tripwir62
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    • deadletter Call the Teamsters. Pretty sure they have a union contract with these stadiums and NOBODY else should be doing the labor much less for free.
      via Tripwir62
    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply It would not in most cases apply to all sub contractors.
      via Tripwir62
    • VinylHighway So....why did you volunteer?
      via Tripwir62
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    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply I thought I'd would be an interesting experience. And for one day, it was.
      via Tripwir62
    • RegularRichard1 I've done this before. While you are kept under the stadium before the halftime show you can stay to watch after the halftime show is completed. You are fed well and will receive a bunch of swag, I got 6 sweatshirts 4 pair of Nikes and some track pants. I was able to meet the performers of the show as well as the players after. You will be rewarded for doing it. It all depends on what is available from the advertisers at the time.
      via Tripwir62
    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply This was not the halftime show, which might well be quite different. It was all pregame and the volunteer session very clearly ends before the game starts. They were also extremely explicit in several documents that you will see none of the game and the only promise they made with respect to swag was a T-shirt for the ceremony itself.
      via Tripwir62
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    • laurasaurus5 Do they give you food? Do they cover parking fees? Do you get to see the players up close? Is there an after party or networking opportunity? Gift cards or discounts to a local bar/restaurant? It's not only exploitative, but it also seems like a major security risk for such a high profile event. Did you need a background check? Don't let this experience turn you against volunteer work that actually helps people!
      via Tripwir62
    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply No food. Just water. They had a parking lot from which there was a bus. No other comp, and yes there was a background check, and very tight, digital security throughout.
      via Tripwir62
    • toxicdelug3 I'd join and somehow disappeared after setup. Told people I left early. But be on the sidelines having front row seats to the super bowl
      via Tripwir62
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    • Tripwir62 Original Poster's Reply Security CRAZY tight. No way anyone can do this.
      via Tripwir62
    • OxRedOx This is like being asked to volunteer at an investment bank.
      via Tripwir62
    • badgerj I laugh when people "volunteer" for anything making a profit. For good causes, fund raisers for a charity, food banks, or something similar... you have my full support and utmost empathy. THAT is true volunteering. When people are paying $100s to tens of $100 for a seat... and ads are going for???? Per 30s spot.... As Bart would would say: "Get Bent!"
      via Tripwir62
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    • tdomman Get the 100 together and have none of them show up on Sunday.
      via Tripwir62
    • BlueRFR3100 They count on people to have your reaction. "Volunteer at the Superbowl? That sound cool. Sign me up." II Most people don't catch on to the scam as quickly as you did. If they ever do.
      via Tripwir62

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