The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) and AMPTP reached a tentative deal for a new three-year contact, the Guild has confirmed.
TAG, which represents an estimated 5,000 artists, technicians, writers and production workers in the animation industry, began bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Aug. 12 and have continued intermittently since then. The Master Agreement expired in August but was extended while bargaining was underway.
As with Hollywood’s other recent labor negotiations including the WGA and SAG-AFTRA bargaining that led to last year’s historic double strike, a central issue for the Animation Guild was Gen AI protections amid worries about potential job displacement. In preparation for these negotiations, TAG partnered with CAA and CVL Economics earlier this year on an impact study, which forecast 29% of animation jobs being potentially disrupted in the next three years.
The IATSE Basic Agreement was ratified in July, which also includes basic AI guidelines. Some members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees felt those guardrails were not enough, though 86% voted to ratify the contract. The Animation Guild’s has sought to expand those terms.
The Animation Guild was also pushing for better pay and job security at a time when unemployment is high amid industrywide contraction. TAG additionally has reported that Los Angeles County animation studios continue to send work to studios in Asia and Europe, and some of those studios, in turn, try to hire L.A. workers at lower rates without the benefits and protections provided by the union.
More to follow.
