FX workers beware: if your paycheque is late, turn off your computer and walk away from the project – fast.

And take your coworkers with you. That’s the advice of Burbank-based union organizer Steve Hulett, who has watched a number of North American FX companies shut down without paying their employees.

‘It’s always the same [story],’ says the IATSE Animation Guild business representative. ‘The bosses come in with a hard-luck story and ask people to keep working. They all use the same lines: ‘We’re like a family’… ‘We need you to be a team player.’ They blah blah blah, puke puke puke and three months later the workers still aren’t being paid.’

Hulett’s warning is relevant for Montreal FX workers, who, since 2007, have gone to Quebec’s labor standards commission twice to fight for back pay from two FX shops working on blockbusters that ultimately grossed hundreds of millions of dollars.

Montreal shop Meteor Studios did FX on Journey to the Center of the Earth (which racked up US$241 million at the worldwide box office via New Line), yet Meteor declared bankruptcy in March 2008, owing hundreds of thousands in wages. In late September, 130 mostly Canadian former Meteor employees finally collected some of their outstanding pay.

The Journey to the Center of the Earth FX artists reached a settlement with Meteor’s owners, Discovery Trademark Holding Company and Evergreen Digital, to receive $590,000, or 70% of the money they say they were owed.

And just last December, Montreal-based damnfx abruptly let go its workers in the middle of post-production on the sequel of John Woo’s Red Cliff, which was billed as the most expensive Asian-financed movie ever made (with a budget of US$80 million). Part one reportedly raked in $124 million in Asia alone, yet the Montreal artists and technicians are still waiting to get paid.

What troubles many industry observers in both cases is that employees continued working on the projects, even though their paycheques had stopped.

The tendency of FX workers to work for free on blockbusters drives IATSE’s Hulett nuts. ‘People are human, people are frightened. I guess they think the promise of eventually being paid is better than walking away. But that’s stupid. The only leverage people have is to stop working.’

Former Meteor and damnfx employee Dave Rand agrees. Rand first got burned at Meteor, and was then recruited by damnfx with the promise that cash flow wasn’t a problem. ‘They were late with the first cheque. So I walked,’ says Rand.

‘The concentration of talent in Montreal is amazing,’ Rand continues. ‘It’s too bad someone isn’t stepping in to manage them properly,’ he adds, noting that he was contemplating becoming a Canadian citizen until his unpleasant experience working in the FX industry here.

Indeed.

Quebec FX workers aren’t represented by the province’s two main film and FX industry unions, AQTIS and U.S.-based IATSE, whose members work mainly on American service shoots.

AQTIS director of labor relations Mathieu Lequin says not one FX worker has approached him about obtaining union accreditation. ‘AQTIS represents freelancers working in the film industry, not salaried employees, but [FX workers] could certainly form a union if someone asked us or another labor organization.’

In Quebec, in order to obtain union accreditation, 35% of workers must sign cards. Because FX workers tend to be young – between 25 and 35 years of age – they might be more individualistic and less interested in unions, says Lequin. ‘They didn’t participate in the belle époque des unions [great era of unions], so they don’t understand the culture.’

One former Meteor employee believes that workers are afraid to unionize. ‘There’s lots of talk about forming a union, but no one wants to stick their neck out,’ says the FX worker, who requested anonymity for fear of being shut out of this volatile industry. ‘They are afraid of being blacklisted. Even though the industry is growing, there is still a starving-artist mentality.’

What about simply shutting off the computer and walking away, as Hulett advises?

‘It’s a small industry. Unfortunately, a lot of the people who own the companies are friends with the workers, so that makes it harder,’ says the source.

How is it possible that FX companies working on films that ultimately gross millions get into financial trouble in the first place?

Analysts believe it’s the structure of the industry. To cut costs, big studios outsource FX to small companies in the U.S., Canada, India and Asia. Because the competition is global, and the work sporadic, companies will lowball their bids to get contracts, says a former manager at damnfx, Josée Lalumière, who founded New Breed Visual Effects with Émile Ghorayeb in 2007. They employ roughly 15 former damnfx employees

Often FX studios have to hire dozens of salaried employees to complete a project, who they keep on the payroll when there is no work, explains Lalumière.

‘Damnfx had a dry spell of six months before the Red Cliff film,’ she explains. ‘It’s not feasible to have a studio with more than 100 employees. There isn’t enough work.’

Lalumière’s goal is to establish a medium-sized versatile company that can take on a variety of projects.

‘The most I will hire is 25 people. After that I’m not comfortable,’ says Lalumière, adding that she believes the Montreal FX industry has ‘learned from our mistakes.’

But Hulett believes employees also have to do their part: ‘Don’t listen to the sob story. Build a culture where not getting paid isn’t tolerated. Set an example. If the shop collapses you can be sure another company won’t dare to not pay its workers.’