WME & Endeavor Content Up Pay, Medical Coverage, Student Loan Help For Assistants & Coordinators

EXCLUSIVE: It has been a hard pandemic year at the agencies, particularly for new employees just trying to gain a foothold. WME and Endeavor Content today outlined relief initiatives for Assistants and Coordinators. CEO Ari Emanuel last week announced via company email that moves would be made and today came the specifics.

WME and Endeavor Content is raising pay for new hires and current Assistants. The starting minimum hourly rate for Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville Assistants will increase from to $15 an hour to $18 an hour with an additional $2 an hour increase to $20 an hour rate on the first anniversary of their hire date. Current Assistants are having their minimum hourly rate raised to $18 an hour, with an additional $2 an hour increase to $20 an hour planned, effective August 2021.

All Assistants will be allowed to submit up to 10 hours of overtime a week without supervisor pre-approval and all Assistants will be eligible for discretionary bonuses. These changes apply to U.S. operations, but there are also changes being made to WME’s programs in the U.K. and Australia that will be rolled out shortly.

In addition, WME and Endeavor Content will provide all Assistants a medical benefits option that covers the full monthly medical premium for the first two years of their employment at the company.

WME and Endeavor Content Assistants and Coordinators will be eligible for student loan relief of $1,000, after the first anniversary of hire with an additional $2,000 after the second anniversary of hire.

There will also be a technology stipend, as all WME/Endeavor Content Assistants assigned to desks, and Coordinators, will be eligible to receive $50 a month as reimbursement toward their personal cell phone expenses.

The last move is a symbolic one: Assistant names will now appear in their e-mail fields, removing the long-standing tradition of having “nameless” assistant email addresses.