Assistant Trainer Duties & Pay - California

[sami-joe]

Yes, and… I nearly married a concert violist. He’d gone to Julliard, done absolutely everything right for his passion except he only wanted to work in quartets, quintets, trios, not symphonies. Had he been willing to play in symphonies, where players are unionized, are well paid, and have health insurance, or move to Europe where healthcare is presumed, he’d not be building bookshelves and hanging sheetrock today.

Like classical musicians, we work in the horse world because we know it and love it and it’s a lovely, teeny slice of our culture. It is a peculiarly US thing to penalize people because we like our jobs. The only way to preclude that penalty here is to organize.

Farmworkers did it. Why can’t we? I didn’t buy grapes at the supermarket for more than a decade. You might be surprised who would support us.

[EssexFells]

Oh, I really REALLY don’t think horse trainers are comparable to the agricultural workers who unionized. Ag workers are not in the fields because that’s their passion, because they want to extend their teenage hobby as long as possible. Already-privileged white girls do not need a union. I’m sure some here will protest this description, but if someone grew up riding, there’s a 99% chance they’re white, middle-class or above, and had access to a college education (even if they decided against going to college). If they put in the work, they have just about any career, any geographic location available to them.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is why unions need to exist. Not this.

ETA: the violinist is a perfect example. He had choices on where to work. He could pick a career that was more stable, protected, predictable, and lucrative. He chose a different path that he knew was not as stable or lucative, but that (I assume) brought him more satisfaction at that time. The answer is not to unionize every field. The answer is for the person to choose what kind of career they want. If making lots of money, schedule control, etc are important, then choose a career that provides that.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Nope, professional musician here who was formally full-time professional musician (ie my only source of income). That is not the perfect example. Gonna stop you right there.

Did I choose music because I love it? Yeah. Did I choose to have to take arts organizations to small claims courts to get paid, be sexually assaulted, be passed over for reasons in any other profession would be considered HR violations, be unfairly compensated compared to my male peers, and have minimal if any access to benefits? No.

Only in America do artists face that bullshit. A musician shouldn’t be penalized like that. Artists of color have it even worse, and heaven help if you’re a woman on top of that.

FYI, sometimes you don’t get that job security of a symphony–not all symphonies are unionized. And not all musicians are best suited for symphonies despite their talent.

And let me tell you–even those who are in unions still face a lot of hardship. What went down with Atl Symphony Orchestra awhile back was atrocious.

Anywhere else in the world, including Russia of all places as much as it pains me to say, musicians can actually make a full-time career out of music ie have one job, healthcare, and afford some type of housing, even if it’s just renting.

That is no longer possible in the US. Instead, there is a mentality that it’s a “passion project” for folks who don’t care about money and it’s OK to undercompensate them because they love what they do.

Now, to be clear: I don’t think unions are the answer to every industry out there. But when there are clear patterns against a workforce that exists at the bequest of the 1%… yeah I think a union could be an option on the table.

I can’t speak for all assistant trainers/working students out there. Certainly I have seen a lot of questionable behavior from barn employers that in any other corporate America job would get someone sued. But there is a lot of gray area around the job description and compensation for these types of roles (maybe there shouldn’t be).

However at least for the general public’s knowledge about what it’s like to be a professional musician in the US and why we have worked so hard to unionize where we can, now you (general) know.

[EssexFells]

OK, so this has morphed into how women and artistic endeavors are not valued enough in the US (as opposed to whether asst horse trainers should be unionized).

Russia’s cultural institutions are largely if not entirely funded by the state, much more generously than in the US. (where the majority of the population feels judged by, rather than uplifted by, the arts and the artistic class, and they elect representatives who sneer at the arts, cut funding, and attack arts education in schools as elitist. Sad to say but we’re a nation of dullards). Needless to say, unions aren’t going to fix any of that.

I really hate this mentality that loving what you do is limited to careers where people pursue traditionally creative talents or working outdoors in scenic settings. Ya know what? I was a french literature major and loved writing and writers. I imagined I would work my whole life in publishing, and right out of college worked for a few years in NYC book publishing. I was at two of the biggest houses–major authors, major editors–so I got a good look at what that career would be like. And decided that a $16k annual salary was not worth it, just to work in a cool industry. Now I spend half my days at electric substations and working with utility engineers. I really truly love my job and what I do. I still read great books and seek out literary people when I’m not at work.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Forgive me, I know I shifted the topic. This is a real sore spot for me because so many folks just shrugged and said “this (all the terrible stuff, not the paycheck) is part of the job,” but the truth is it shouldn’t be.

Unions should ensure equitable pay–doesn’t necessarily mean high pay–and the rights and safety of its members.

To that end, I do wonder if there are enough rights and safety issues with the working student/assistant trainer/barn workers to warrant a potential union. Like I said, I’ve seen some really questionable behavior out of trainers/barn owners. But are the three barns that come to mind enough of a sample? Not totally sure. So I would definitely be curious to explore that more since, like I said, maybe a union isn’t farfetched if the data is there.

@essexfells, I too ended up putting my degree to better use and now lead talent acquisition for tech companies. I like what I do; it is very satisfying to help folks get the equitable and inclusive interview experiences that I never got in my music career. But I was driven to that new career because my safety and rights couldn’t be protected more than the money (although to be clear, the pay is infinitely better).

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I agree with your posts @Pony_an_inch (speaking as a writer 1,000%). And one of the reasons the arts and publishing (and just as critically journalism) struggles to get a truly representative workforce of the population they should be serving is that the pay is so low, and only people who can afford to work for no pay can take such jobs. And even then, the low pay and abusive schedules and treatment makes them leave, quite often. High turnover and a lack of respect for employees (and fair pay is part of respect) is not a sustainable or just business plan.

[Night_Flight]

Does anyone know if organizations such as the British Grooms Association have caused any improvement in places that have them?

[sami-joe]

Agree with your complaints. Yes, we’re white and privileged for the most part. Also, possibly whiny.
I maintain that labor is valuable regardless of how we came to it.
I’m old enough to know that men do this work less and less because it is too much work for too little pay.
Also, speak Frances Perkins to me any old time and we must be friends.

[Willesdon]

@Night_Flight

Does anyone know if organizations such as the British Grooms Association have caused any improvement in places that have them?

The BGA have been successful in raising the profile of groom in the UK. It provides services such as legal advice, insurance cover, career advice and job listings and offers a helpful sense of community in an industry where people can feel very isolated. It runs campaigns on issues such as mental health and minimum wages across equestrian media. Basically, it is a professional association that seeks to support grooms like the professionals they are. There is now a corresponding Equestrian Employers Association which is looking at issues such as staff recruitment, retention, wages, legal issues and training issues from the employers side. They two organisations talk together. Also, just this month the FEI have established an International Grooms association after many years of work by BGA.

There has been a noticable improvement in the visibility of grooms over the past few years. Racing has been working to raise the profile of everyone involved in racing, not just the jockeys and trainers, as part of the effort to improve and sustain the public’s knowledge of the industry and stable staff are a key part of that story. Simple things: they are listed in the race programme together with owner, trainer and jockey, and they take part in prize givings. Alan Davies is as much part of British Dressage as Hester and Dujardin. Proof? He is paid to endorse horse care products. This week in Horse&Hound, the showjumping section suggests that grooms should be renamed to remove the suspicion of a servant/master relationship because it is widely acknowledged that grooms are so vital to the success of top level riders and teams. In eventing, Jacky Potts is acknowledged as instrumental in Fox-Pitts multiple years at the top. She has her own social media. Grooms at Badminton each received £200 if their charge started xc. There was also a good prize for the groom who was deemed to have taken the most care over the competition, won by the solitary German entry. Even in polo, I’ve heard commentators saying e.g. "Simon and I have played together and against each other since Pony Club days. The pony is Treetop, playing high goal for the last two seasons, and he is by the famous Argentine stallion Rapido, and the groom is… ummmm… the groom is… is… ah… Juan!

An acquaintance just back from a college visit to Kentucky commented “There are people paying 600 thousand dollars for horse but they won’t pay $15 an hour for a groom. What is that about?” I found it interesting that that was what she picked up on out of her jam-packed visit and one of the first things she reported.