The Animation Guild Counts Down to August 12 Negotiations with the AMPTP
Burbank, CA, July 29, 2024 — The Animation Guild (TAG) is less than two weeks away from starting negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on August 12. As it enters these negotiations, the animation industry has been decimated by numerous issues that endanger the livelihoods of animation workers. During the pandemic, animation workers supported the industry by working remotely to produce high-quality content. As a reward for stepping up during this difficult time, they are facing great threats to the sustainability of their crafts. Some of these issues include:
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI): Not only does GenAI undermine the human creativity that makes animation a unique and lucrative medium, but it also has the potential to eliminate creative jobs on a devastating scale. TAG partnered with CAA and CVL Economics earlier this year on an impact study showing significant potential for job displacement, with 29% of animation jobs being potentially disrupted in the next three years.
Significant layoffs: Significant layoffs and show cancellations have become increasingly common in the animation industry. Through anecdotal research and internal surveys, we estimate that one-third of TAG's animation workforce has been laid off in the past year.
Outsourcing: Los Angeles County animation studios continue to send work to studios in Asia and Europe. Some of those studios, in turn, try to hire L.A. workers at lower rates without the benefits and protections provided by the union.
TAG members share first-hand experience with these issues:
"I'm concerned about the way that animation crews are getting smaller and smaller. Fewer people are taking on the same amount of work and therefore people are expected to hold more job responsibilities within their role with no additional compensation." - Alex A.K., 2D and 3D Animator
"It seems like every day the studios are outsourcing our jobs overseas, and it's a never-ending creep of consolidation. Artists are already in L.A., and we're ready to work." - Brent Noll, Prop Designer
"Animation writing has become unstable gig work instead of a long career. Now with the prevalence of studios hiring freelance writers instead of staff writers, you're making a quarter to half of what staff writers make, and you're always having to find that next gig. That's really hurting our craft and making it so that it's no longer a job we can afford to do." - Madison Bateman, Writer
TAG will be holding a Negotiations Kickoff Rally on Saturday, August 10, at 5 p.m. Register to attend at animationguild.org/Rally2024
Please visit TAGnegotiations2024.com for more information and future updates.
The Animation Guild, also known as Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), was founded in 1952. As a labor union, we represent more than 5,000 artists, technicians, writers, and production crews in the animation industry, advocating for workers to improve wages and conditions.
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