Ahead of August 12 negotiation kickoff with AMPTP, the union outlines critical issues and invites the animation community to come together and rally support on August 10.
Ahead of negotiations with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), slated to start August 12, the Animation Guild (TAG) has highlighted numerous issues that are deemed critical to the continued livelihoods of animation workers, while pointing out that workers who stepped up to support the industry by working remotely during COVID are now facing threats to the sustainability of their crafts.
Here are issue highlights asserted and defined by TAG:
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI):
According to TAG, GenAI undermines 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 potentially disrupted in the next three years.
Significant layoffs:
Significant layoffs and show cancellations are increasingly common in the animation industry. Through anecdotal research and internal surveys, the union estimates one-third of TAG's animation workforce experienced layoffs in the past year.
Outsourcing:
Los Angeles County animation studios continue to send work to studios in Asia and Europe. Various studios, in turn, try to hire L.A. workers at lower rates without the benefits and protections provided by the union.
TAG will be holding a Negotiations Kickoff Rally on Saturday, August 10, at 5 p.m. Register to attend here.
Visit TAGnegotiations2024.com for more information and future updates.
The Animation Guild, founded in 1952, is also known as Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). As a labor union, it represents more than 5,000 artists, technicians, writers, and production crews in the animation industry, advocating for workers to improve wages and conditions.
Source: TAG
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
