just in case anyone missed this in the news or maybe not in the loop, Disney is currently refusing to meet with or acknowledge the newly formed animation production workers union that just voted to join IASTE and become an official part of TAG, the animators and animation artists guild
production workers across all studios are currently voting to be recognized for their hard work and invaluable skill at keeping these productions running, but studios are refusing to meet with them to let them negotiate deals or even exist
as someone who works in animation as a designer i know i wouldn't be able to do my job at all without any of my production workers. they are the incredibly hard working people who oversee pretty much everything in animation. they make sure everything is running on time, that schedules are being followed, they have to know pretty much every single word of the scripts and beats from the storyboards to make sure nothing is missed, and most importantly, they make sure artists are being taken care of and not overworked. they really are the unsung heroes of the animation world
production workers are also by far the most exploited workers in animation currently. they make about a fraction of what artists make for just as much work put in, and currently have no agreement for health coverage or other benefits that artists protected by the union are guaranteed
BUT! there is some good news. right now there's a petition on IATSE's website that has over 80,000 signatures currently addressed to disney leadership to do the right thing and meet with this new union and recognized their vote to form. it still needs roughly 21,000 signatures and only takes a minute to sign! anyone with a zip or postal code can sign, meaning both US and Canadian residents can sign and help this union get the deal it deserves!!
There's lots of stuff happening at once so have a round up:
Warner Bros and Cartoon Network animation production (various) roles are working to join The Animation Guild. [edited to clarify]
“Although many might not think it, production is a specialized skill,” said Warner Bros. Animation production manager, Hannah Ferenc in an official statement. “We might not be artists or writers, but what we bring to the table goes beyond traditional creativity and gets content on the air.”
Further edit for clarity: the unionization effort is for animation production roles (not animators, who are already unionized), to bring production staff into The Animation Guild at WB and CN.
Also I'm going to point out Animation is often an under-appreciated form of media, often looked down on as lesser, or less worthy, or less high quality than live action and I'm a fan of Animation. So I extra want to voice my support for the WB and CN production staff + animators, and everyone who works in animation for all the beautiful work they do in every facet.
UPS agreed to go back and negotiate with the Teamsters union, prepared to increase pay/benefits.
Tentatively...I hope this is a hopeful sign for the labor movement, and for the Hollywood strikes as well. If UPS saw the way the wind was blowing, could that make Hollywood companies feel more pressure. UPS is a massive corporation. Granted, Hollywood studios are multiple big corporations, but maybe this doesn't bode well for them stonewalling the SAG and WGA.
IATSE Local 798--Broadway makeup and hair stylists union--is voting whether or not to authorize a strike, after talks with Broadway League (the producers association) and Disney Theatrical Productions stalled. There's a very informative video embedded in the blog post from Kevin Thomas Garica, who worked on Hadestown and Anastasia. Yes, Broadway could shut down.
I am in TOTAL support of the film, television, and theatrical stage crew going on strike, and you should be, too. No form of art is worth unsafe and unfair working conditions. Crew deserve all the respect in the world. I don't want to hear one fucking word from anyone complaining about delayed productions or interruptions to your comfort shows and films. Your entertainment is not worth someone's life or livelihood! Support your unions, your crew, and the people who work hard to make the shows and films and plays you create all your Tumblr content for. Your faves would be nothing without the crew!
April 26: All 13 IATSE Locals Have Reached Tentative Agreements with the AMPTP; now IATSE will restart general negotiations.
With all 13 IATSE Locals reaching tentative agreements with the AMPTP, now the real fight begins, with IATSE starting general negotiations A
After over a month of negotiating, all 13 of IATSE’s West Coast Locals have reached tentative deals with the AMPTP, IATSE announced today. Now the real fight can begin.
On Thursday, April 25, the last of the remaining 13 locals, Affiliated Property Craftspersons Local 44, reached a tentative agreement with the studios, and Studio Teachers, IATSE Local 884, reached a deal on April 19, opening the door for IATSE’s national negotiating committee to restart negotiations on the Basic Agreement. Those talks are scheduled to kick off on April 29 and continue through May 16.
“Our locals’ craft-specific issues required the employers’ attention, and at the table we’re seeing improved engagement and dialogue,” IATSE’s International vice president Mike Miller said in a statement. “That indicates the studios’ negotiators have different marching orders this contract cycle. This approach will be helpful as we continue our negotiations over the next few weeks.”
After over a month of negotiating, all 13 of IATSE’s West Coast Locals have reached tentative deals with the AMPTP, IATSE announced today. Now the real fight can begin.
On Thursday, April 25, the last of the remaining 13 locals, Affiliated Property Craftspersons Local 44, reached a tentative agreement with the studios, and Studio Teachers, IATSE Local 884, reached a deal on April 19, opening the door for IATSE’s national negotiating committee to restart negotiations on the Basic Agreement. Those talks are scheduled to kick off on April 29 and continue through May 16.
“Our locals’ craft-specific issues required the employers’ attention, and at the table we’re seeing improved engagement and dialogue,” IATSE’s International vice president Mike Miller said in a statement. “That indicates the studios’ negotiators have different marching orders this contract cycle. This approach will be helpful as we continue our negotiations over the next few weeks.”
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Each of the 13 locals (44, 80, 600, 695, 700, 705, 706, 728, 729, 800, 871, 884, and 892) were negotiating issues specific to their own crafts and union members, with two locals talking with the studios at a time. They reached tentative deals largely without any hiccups. A few of the locals, including Local 44 representing set decorators and propmakers, did not reach a deal in their allotted three days of scheduled bargaining and bled into the following week, but there were no delays in the overall schedule, and IATSE even scheduled a week of caucusing to account for such a scenario if things ran long.
The locals haven’t had a chance to negotiate a new contract for the last six years, with Covid interrupting what would’ve been the prior round of negotiations. And it’s also unprecedented that each of the 13 locals got several days of individual time scheduled in advance in order to work through their contracts. Not all of the locals has always had the time afforded to them to come to the negotiating table.
Terms of the tentative deals with each of the locals have not been revealed to members just yet, and they won’t be put up for ratification until after IATSE has reached a tentative deal on the Basic Agreement. IATSE recently flopped the order of its bargaining schedule, intending to negotiate the Basic Agreement followed by the Area Standards Agreement, which covers craftspeople working outside of Los Angeles. Negotiations for the ASA will start on May 20 and run through May 31.
The real battle now begins with the studios over issues wage increases, pension and health contributions, quality of life conditions such as lengths of workdays, meal penalties, and turnaround times, job security, residuals, and the big elephant in the room, AI.
IATSE already got the ball rolling on talks related to health plan terms and pension benefits back on March 4, and they teamed up with the Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts to speed along the process. Teamsters and Basic Crafts won’t begin their individual talks until sometime in June.
Negotiations to prevent a strike that could bring the film and television production business to its knees are going down to the wire. Matthew Loeb, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage E…
Here we go... IATSE has officially set a strike date of Monday, October 18 @ 12:01 AM.
Which means if an agreement is not reached by then, 60,000 union members will initiate a strike.
Key demands:
- 10 hour turn around between shifts for all workers (i.e. you’re off the clock for 10 full hours before you have to be back to work, allowing for commutes home and a full 8 hours of rest - but even still, think about that. If you have to drive 45 mins - 1hr home, a common commute in areas like LA, Atlanta, and New York, then you have EXACTLY 8 hours to eat, sleep, and see your family)
- 54 hour turn around on the weekends (film work frequently bleeds over into Saturdays “Fraturdays” - leaving even less time for a personal life).
- Increased meal penalties (productions currently can pay extra to skip stopping for lunch breaks and they’d often rather do that, so the hope is that forcing them to pay more money will incentivize them to actually do lunch breaks). Imagine having to work 14+ hours with no break for a meal because production would rather just pay extra money than stop filming.
- Better pay - the contracts currently in negotiation include what is currently categorized as “new media” - think streaming channels like Netflix & Hulu. When these contracts were originally made, streaming WAS new and nobody was sure what it’s profits would look like so IATSE agreed to let these shows pay less to workers. But they are now the major form of media and HIGHLY profitable so wages should be upgraded to reflect this.
Still waiting to hear from my union (OPEIU - clerks working alongside production) how we're going to be handling this. They've only said vaguely "don't cross the picket line" without explaining what that means when your job site (a major motion picture studio) is likely to be picketed.
At any rate, I’m in full support of IATSE - people need regulated work hours & turn around times and better pay. For every 12-14 hour day I worked just as background, that meant many other people were working 14-16 hour days - which is just crazy because that doesn't account for any commute (anywhere from 15 mins to 2 hours drive time some days). There are so many missed life moments and family time for film people. On top of that, just pure exhaustion - there have been countless stories of people falling asleep at the wheel and being hurt or dying because of film work commutes.
Entertainment is costing people their lives literally and metaphorically - and it's just not worth that.
Stay tuned for what you can do to support the strike.
Like the writers strike, this will probably affect a lot of movie productions and shows, especially on various streaming services. Some will be on hiatus, some might be cut short, some might even be cancelled
And I can understand how that would upset fans. We’ve been entertained by this content during a difficult period for most of us. Of course it sucks to know that your favorite show you’ve grown attached to may end suddenly
But the fact of the matter is that thousands of crew members are dangerously overworked. Those who work on productions for streaming services are also paid significantly less. I can’t even fathom how badly they’ve handled COVID protocols on set. It’s the main reason I have been reluctant to find a job in film right now. Even internships are looking a bit risky.
So if you’re favorite series is getting cancelled or put on hiatus, do not blame the strike. Blame the executives, the top people in Hollywood and all these streaming services that refuse to care about the health and safety of their workers
