ALJAZEERA: … [World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Vincent] McMahon and his fellow executives’ ability to exercise a tremendous amount of control over their talent has a long history. From the 1920s, when wrestling promoters began scripting the outcomes of their most important matches in order to attract fans with exciting finishes, until McMahon’s nationwide expansion in the early 1980s, wrestlers worked on short-term contracts and traveled freely among dozens of small wrestling promotions. Considered independent contractors rather than employees because they possessed the skills, resources and job flexibility to act as their own employers, wrestlers are responsible for many of the perquisites that other professional athletes have come to take for granted — travel expenses, personal training and health insurance. The WWE is also freed from having to make contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance for these workers.
As the WWE expanded, the collapse of dozens of small, regional promotions decreased wrestlers’ employment options. But the independent contractor system remained firmly in place in this changed labor environment. The WWE explains on its website that “like some professional athletes and entertainers such as actors and actresses on television dramas, soaps or comedies, WWE performers are independent contractors … and are personally responsible for acquiring their own health insurance, life insurance and financial planning.”…
Some popular performers such as John Cena and Randy Orton have been able to negotiate favorable deals with the WWE that include first-class travel arrangements and health insurance. However, available salary data indicates that most low-level performers and members of the female Diva division operate on short-term guaranteed contracts in the mid–five figures, out of which they must pay for their travel, food and lodging. Should these wrestlers seek greener pastures in Total Nonstop Action, the nation’s second-largest wrestling company, they will discover even more unequal labor relations: Many of the performers in TNA are paid a mere $200 to $300 a match… (more)
