Walt Disney Animation Studios Production Workers Vote to Unionize With TAG
Walt Disney Animation Studios Production Workers Vote to Unionize With TAG
They’re the latest studio unionization action in the company after VFX workers the live action films and Marvel Studios
Sixty three production employees, ranging from production coordinators to production managers and production supervisors at Walt Disney Animation Studios voted to unionize with The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) in a National Labor Relations Board-held election Wednesday.
There were 68 total eligible voters in this election, with five workers voting against unionization. That amounts to 93% voting “yes” on impressive 96% turnout. While it wasn't unanimous like previously covered elections, it got the job done. There’s a five-day period that if no objection is filed before then, the results will be certified and collective bargaining for a contract can begin.
The organizing drive actually began in the winter of 2022. The workers were needing change related pay and portable healthcare that they could carry over to new jobs. Production coordinator Shannon Henley explained at the time of the initial attempts “Even though I love my job, I regularly must consider if I should instead find a job with better pay, better hours, better benefits, and a more viable career path forward. Joining TAG gives me hope that I’ll no longer have to consider leaving my dream job in order to live comfortably.”
However, Disney higher-ups wouldn’t voluntarily recognize the union. After a March vote, there was reportedly some debate in legality over whether certain members were even eligible to join the union. Disney argued that production managers and production supervisors were managers and did not share a “community of interest” with production coordinators, rendering them unable to join. The NLRB helpfully issued a direction of election with all roles included at the end of September, and thus this one occurred, after an acting regional director found that the proposed bargaining unit was “appropriate”.
Notably, The Animation Guild has been making great progress for workers at other companies such as Nickelodeon, who unionized in December, ShadowMachine, and Titmouse’s New York and Los Angeles locations. They tweeted out congratulations and called for celebration upon learning the news. Visual effects workers over at the live action films end as well as Marvel Studios also successfully unionized with IATSE around the time of the direction for election.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline