DreamWorks Production Workers to Join Animation Guild

Jeremy Fuster
·2 min read

The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) announced two more big developments in its campaign to unionize animation production workers, adding employees at DreamWorks and Australian outlet Flying Bark Productions to its ranks.

Last week, the guild sent a letter to DreamWorks Animation announcing the intent of the studio’s 162 production workers to unionize ahead of contract negotiations later this year and filed for recognition with the National Labor Relations Board.

“It is an honor to work someplace with such a legacy, but legacy doesn’t pay the bills or protect us when the industry shifts,” Rachel Carlson, a director and producers’ assistant who works at DreamWorks, said.

“The people of the entertainment industry have relied on unions to fight for their best interests. Although we are not paid to be artists at DWA, we deserve the opportunity to be represented. Working under a corporation that has been valued at approximately $167 billion means that the people are not always the priority,” Carlson continued. “Under TAG, we will have a direct link to those who are otherwise out of our reach and have our voice be heard.”

TAG is also seeking to represent a group of eight production workers at Flying Bark Productions. Though the production company is based in Australia, the workers are employed at a satellite office in Los Angeles and are currently working on an untitled animated spinoff to Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”

“As production staff, we were motivated to form a union with The Animation Guild because we deserve the same protections and benefits as our artist kin. We love working in animation and want it to be a career with security and longevity for us all,” Flying Bark script coordinator Elise Bradley said.

Since ratifying its last contract in 2022, The Animation Guild has embarked on a campaign to unionize production workers and remote workers at various animation studios, and are expected to push for those new additions to the union to be included in the benefits of the next contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Nickelodeon, Titmouse and Walt Disney Animation are among the other major animation houses whose production workers TAG have successfully unionized.

The guild is still in the early stages of preparation for this year’s contract negotiations, which are expected to begin sometime this summer after contract talks for the rest of IATSE are held.

The post DreamWorks Production Workers to Join Animation Guild appeared first on TheWrap.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Edwards leads Wolves back from 20-point deficit, beat defending champion Nuggets 98-90

    DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards overcame a slow start and the Timberwolves roared back from a 20-point second-half deficit to eliminate the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in a Game 7 Minnesota masterpiece on Sunday night. The Timberwolves overcame a 15-point halftime deficit — the largest comeback in a Game 7 in NBA playoff history — behind Edwards, who had just four points, no rebounds and three assists at halftime but finished with 16 points, eight boards and seven assists. His impac

  • What a blast to work at NASA. Space agency is sky-high again in latest survey of federal employees

    Exploring the cosmos makes for happy employees, federal workers like to work from home like everyone else, and an agency that has struggled with low morale is showing improvement. In a city that revolves around the federal government, the annual Best Places to Work survey is a closely watched annual event worthy of bragging rights — provided you're one of the agencies such as NASA or the Government Accountability Office who topped the survey. The survey uses information from the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and is produced by the Partnership for Public Service and the Boston Consulting Group.

  • Taiwan's new President Lai in his inauguration speech urges China to stop its military intimidation

    TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te in his inauguration speech has urged China to stop its military intimidation against the self-governed island Beijing claims as its own territory. Lai was sworn into office in a ceremony Monday after he won an election earlier this year. He is a relative moderate who will continue Taiwan’s policy of de facto independence while seeking to bolster its defenses against China. He takes over from Tsai Ing-wen, who led Taiwan through eight year

  • 'Cutting edge': Inside a fire-resistant home built in the Marshall Fire burn area

    Denver7's Russell Haythorn takes a look at a passive, fire-resistant home that was built in the Marshall Fire burn area.

  • Nikki Haley faces a murky path forward and a key decision on whether or not to endorse Trump

    COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley is perhaps the highest-profile Republican in the nation who has refused to fall in line and endorse Donald Trump’s presidential bid. It’s unclear how long that might last. Some allies believe she may be forced to endorse him before the November election to avoid permanently alienating the Republican Party base. Some even suspect that Haley will re-emerge on Trump’s short list of vice presidential contenders in the coming months, despite Trump’s recent statement

  • Factbox-Who is Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's interim president?

    * As interim president, Mokhber is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organise a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death. * Born on Sept. 1, 1955, Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state.

  • Iran helicopter president crash latest: Ebrahim Raisi dead as wreckage found on side of steep mountain

    Iranian president along with foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have died in the helicopter crash

  • Tornado causes damage to home near Yukon

    Tornado causes damage to home near Yukon

  • Flash floods due to unusually heavy seasonal rains kill dozens in Afghanistan

    Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains have killed dozens of people in Afghanistan, officials have said. According to the U.N. food agency the western province of Ghor has been the most affected by the floods. (AP production by Fazel Rahman Faizi)

  • Mexican presidential candidates spar over security in final debate

    Mexico's major presidential candidates squared off Sunday night in a debate focused on security, with the ruling party hopeful defending the outgoing president's policy even as her main rival harshly criticized both for record levels of violent crime. Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of the leftist ruling Morena party pledged continuity with the largely non-confrontational security policies of her mentor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, while also touting her crime-fighting record as leader of the sprawling capital. "I'm the only one who can show results in security," said Sheinbaum, arguing that the murder rate on her watch dipped as she hired more police while also supporting social programs aimed at what she described as easing the underlying causes of crime.

  • How should countries deal with falling birth rates?

    As the UK and US continue to see falling birth rates, options to deal with the issue are limited.

  • Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash

    Helicopter went missing in foggy weather conditions in Iran

  • Many remember solid economy under Trump, but his record also full of tax cut hype, debt and disease

    WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a time of fear and chaos four years ago. The death count was mounting as COVID-19 spread. Financial markets were panicked. Oil prices briefly went negative. The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rates to combat the sudden recession. And the U.S. government went on a historic borrowing spree — adding trillions to the national debt — to keep families and businesses afloat. But as Donald Trump recalled that moment at a recent rally, the former president exuded

  • Kid Rock Waves Gun in Rolling Stone Journalist’s Face: Report

    Stephen J. Cohen/Getty ImagesBob Ritchie, a.k.a Kid Rock, will readily admit he lives in his own world—“and it’s great,” as he insisted to a Rolling Stone journalist in a recent interview. The rules of that world, though, apparently dictate that Ritchie can do as he likes, including get “belligerently” drunk in front of someone with a tape recorder. After switching from white wine to bourbon and Coke midway through a sitdown with Rolling Stone, the MAGA-loving rocker began “shouting” at the jour

  • Nuggets fans holding their heads high after Game 7 loss

    Denver7's Claire Lavezzorio caught up with Nuggets fans leaving Ball Arena following the team's season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

  • Sour Patch Kids Oreos? Peeps Pepsi? What's behind the weird flavors popping up on store shelves

    Van Leeuwen Ice Cream usually draws customers with gourmet takes on classics like vanilla and pistachio. But occasionally, the artisanal ice cream maker headquartered in New York slips in what it calls a “shock flavor,” like Hidden Valley Ranch or pizza. Surprising flavor combinations – think gravy-flavored Jones Soda or Sour Patch Kids Oreos -- are showing up more frequently in grocery stores and restaurant chains. Hershey recently introduced pink lemonade-flavored Kit Kats, while IHOP and Lay’

  • Stock market today: Asian stocks advance after Wall Street closes out another winning week

    HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks advanced Monday after U.S. stock indexes drifted around their records on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 40,000 for the first time. U.S. futures rose, and oil prices climbed as investors focused on the Middle East, where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials crashed in the mountainou s northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday. China's market extended last week's gains after the central bank announced new supp

  • AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EDT

    'No sign of life' at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's president, others DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rescuers on Monday found a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials that had apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran the day before, though “no sign of life” was detected, state media reported. As the sun rose Monday, rescuers saw the helicopter from a distance of some 2 kilometers (1.25

  • Red Crescent head says 'no sign of life' at 'crash scene' of Iran president's helicopter

    There is "no sign of life" at the crash scene of the helicopter that was carrying Iran's president, the head of Iran's Red Crescent, Hossein Kolivand, told state media early Monday morning. The Red Crescent confirmed early Monday it had located the missing helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that made a "hard landing" Sunday in foggy conditions. The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs was also on the helicopter.

  • Venture capital funding in crypto rises to $2.4 billion, Pitchbook says

    Crypto startup funding rose for a second straight quarter to hit $2.4 billion in the first three months of 2024, Pitchbook data showed, as expectations of lower interest rates and the debut of the first U.S. bitcoin spot ETF whetted investor appetite. Funding was spread across 518 deals and rose by 40.3% from the previous quarter, according to data firm PitchBook. "The recovery in publicly traded tokens and continued rise in institutional adoption will drive increased VC funding," Pitchbook analyst Robert Le said.