Posted in: Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, animation, Tag, the animation guild

Animation Guild Extends Contract Through Sept. 20th for AMPTP Talks

The Animation Guild (TAG) updated its members on negotiations with AMPTP. The contract was extended to Sept. 20th to allow for more talks.

After meeting with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last week and reports that the two sides had not reached an agreement but were planning to resume talks in mid-September, The Animation Guild (TAG) confirmed both points earlier today in a message to its members on its negotiations website. The update notes that "members of the TAG Negotiations table team met with the AMPTP at their offices in Sherman Oaks, with dozens of TAG Negotiations support team members attending via Zoom" on Monday, August 12th. During that meeting, TAG Business Representative & Leag Negotiator Steve Kaplan "shared a presentation of the proposals TAG submitted to the AMPTP" – a proposal which reportedly addressed a number of the key issues in play for the union in terms of a new deal: "AI protections, improving streaming provisions, craft-specific issues, and job security."

Over the course of the week, there were proposals and counter-proposals considered and responded to. Near the end of Thursday, August 20th, the union says that "it was clear that while the Union was able to achieve tentative agreements on a few subjects, the two parties remain far apart on key issues affecting animation workers." Though noting that "negotiations have moved more slowly than anticipated, TAG added that "progress is being made" – and with that in mind, the union's Negotiations Committee voted to extend the contract through September 20th to allow for a second week of talks.

"We came to the negotiations with a list of concerns and changes prioritized by TAG members. It is disappointing, but not surprising that we could not get meaningful responses back for all the issues we shared in the first week," shared Kaplan in a statement on TAG's negotiations website. "The Negotiations Committee looks forward to resuming our discussions in September when we expect the AMPTP will provide substantive responses and be prepared to make the necessary changes animation workers are asking for."

The negotiations are considered to be even more pivotal to the members of the union than ever – coming at a time when the animation industry continues to pay the price for studios and streamers making some really bad decisions in the midst of "The Great Streaming Wars" – all in the name of wanting to be (and beat) Netflix. What makes this situation even worse is that the same animation industry that's currently fighting for its very survival is the same animation industry that stepped up to help out the studios and streamers when the industry ground to a halt from a global pandemic.

Then there is the all-too-real danger posed by Generative Artificial Intelligence (or Gen AI), which not only eliminates the human creative aspect of the art but could also prove devastating to the number of current creative jobs. On their website, TAG notes that an impact study conducted in conjunction with CAA and CVL Economics showed that without proper checks & balances and guardrails in place, 29% of animation industry jobs could potentially be disrupted over the course of the next three years.

In terms of job loss/unemployment rates within the animation industry, show cancellations/write-offs have, "Through anecdotal research and internal surveys" done by TAG, resulted in an estimated "one-third of TAG's animation workforce" having been laid off over the past year. In addition to show cancellations/write-offs, union members are also facing the threat of outsourcing. What ends up happening is that LA County animation studios send out work to studios in Asia and Europe, and then those studios reach out to animation industry members in the U.S. to offer job opportunities – at a lower rate and without the benefits and protections that union members receive.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!