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

The Animation Guild (TAG) Gets Big Union Support; Saturday Rally Set

The Animation Guild (TAG) received serious union solidarity support today with a rally set for this Saturday. Here's what you need to know...

Next week's Master Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations between The Animation Guild (TAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is an opportunity for the animation industry to get the respect, compensation, and professional protections that they not only deserve but have more than earned over the years. After stepping up to help keep things going during a global pandemic when there was a desperate need for quality, the studios and streamers were forced to face the reality of the mess that they had collectively made – all in the name of wanting to beat Netflix. In order to pull their respective metaphorical asses out of the metaphorical financial fires and make nice-nice with Wall Street, the studios and streamers began slashing budgets, shuttering departments, laying off lots of people, and writing off works of art for tax breaks. And guess who got it the worst? Yup, the animation industry – the same industry that came to their rescue only a few years earlier.

Understanding the importance of these negotiations and what AMPTP may attempt during the negotiations, TAG received a huge showing of union solidarity earlier today. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40 (IBEW), International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399 (IBT), Laborers International Union of North America Local 724 (LiUNA!), Operating Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 755, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), United Association Plumbers Local 78 (UA), Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) issued a collective statement standing in solidarity with TAG – urging AMPTP "to negotiate in good faith, show you value and respect your animation workers, and make meaningful moves to address their specific priorities."

With the TAG/AMPTP negotiations set to get underway on Monday, August 12th (with the contract extension set to expire on Friday, August 16th), industry union members are being urged to attend the "Stand With Animation Contract Negotiations Kickoff Rally,' set for this Saturday, August 10th, from 5-6:30 pm (IATSE Local 80 at 2520 West Olive Avenue #Suite 200 Burbank, CA 91505 – with an RSVP site up and running).

"We stand with the members of TAG as they seek contractual provisions that set fair wages and working conditions, prevent overwork, and safeguard workers from the impact of artificial intelligence. TAG negotiates independently of IATSE's West Coast Studio Locals to address the unique priorities of animation workers, and they do so with our full collective backing.

We also call on the AMPTP to negotiate in good faith, show you value and respect your animation workers, and make meaningful moves to address their specific priorities."

Here's a look at an animated short that was posted by Protecting Animation Workers to show what's at stake for the future of animation with TAG's negotiations with AMPTP and to make sure folks turn out for this Saturday's rally:

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