Workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios vote to unionize under Animation Guild
Production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios have voted to unionize under the Animation Guild, the union announced Wednesday on X.
Production coordinators, managers and supervisors at Disney Animation are poised to be represented by IATSE Local 839, a branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Sixty-three of the 68 workers who participated in the election voted in favor of union representation, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
“Congratulations to the production workers at Disney Feature Animation!” the Animation Guild posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “With 96% voter turnout, 93% voted yes!!! Let’s celebrate!”
A majority of the 177 production workers at Nickelodeon vote to join the Animation Guild in a bid for higher pay and affordable healthcare benefits.
As of Wednesday’s vote, the parties have five business days to file objections to the election. If no objections are submitted, the results will be certified, per the National Labor Relations Board.
The Times has reached out to Disney for comment.
The Animation Guild has represented animation artists, writers and technicians since 1952, but production coordinators, supervisors and managers at Walt Disney Animation Studios weren’t deemed eligible to unionize through the formal NLRB election process until this year.
In September, the NLRB recognized the three employee classifications as an appropriate unit and ruled that they shared a community of interest conducive to unionization, despite Disney’s earlier attempt to argue otherwise.
“This historic win during Disney’s 100th year celebration means that production folks can turn their wish into a reality,” said production coordinator Liz Davalos in a statement.
Another Disney production coordinator, Hannah Bialosky, said in a statement that their successful bid to unionize “sets a strong precedent for all other production management workers in the animation industry hoping to organize with their studios.”
The move by Disney Animation production employees to join IATSE comes less than a year after 177 production workers at Nickelodeon voted to unionize under the Animation Guild in pursuit of higher wages and more affordable healthcare.
The Nickelodeon election marked the largest single group of animation production workers to vote to join the guild, which has more than 6,000 members. Their organizing efforts proved successful after Nickelodeon voluntarily recognized them as a union, according to IATSE.
The L.A. premiere of ‘Priscilla’ will move from the Hollywood Legion Theater to another location after IATSE threatened to picket the event over a labor dispute.
Visual effects workers at Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have also recently voted to unionize with IATSE.
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