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Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Walt Disney Animation Studios Production Workers Ratify Historic First Union Contract
Production management workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios have officially ratified their first union contract with the studio. This agreement comes after an intense organizing effort that saw a supermajority of production workers vote to unionize in February 2023. The agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by the unit with 96% voter participation and ratified with 93% support. More from Variety 'Moana 2' to Release on Disney+ This Month Animation Guild, AMPTP Reach Tentative Contract Deal Animation Guild, AMPTP To Resume Bargaining in September, No Deal Reached This Week The ruling affirmed the eligibility of full-time production coordinators, production supervisors, and production managers to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839. 'It's been an uphill journey, but at long last, we've reached the mountaintop. We are standing in our breakthrough — stronger, bolder, and united,' said production coordinator Tamara Lee. Under the contract, production workers will now receive protections including pension and health benefits. Additionally, substantial wage increases to the minimums have been secured: a 24% increase for production managers, a 29% increase for production supervisors, and a 35% increase for production coordinators — the lowest-paid workers in the unit. Union organizer Allison Smartt said, 'During this downturn in entertainment production, production management workers at one of the most powerful corporations in the world stood up and demanded more. Their daily fight for fair treatment and pay is often outside the public eye.' Smartt added, 'They've been signing petitions, marching to deliver signatures, staging courageous silent protests in front of executives, and regularly engaging in the fight for their fair share for years, setting an inspiring example. They've won a historic contract that will have positive impacts long into the future and throughout the animation industry and I know they aren't done yet.' Negotiations are currently underway with DreamWorks Animation for their first contract, marking the second time feature film production management workers have organized with TAG — this time including their television counterparts. Production supervisor Nicholas Ellingsworth said, 'In Hollywood, we love an underdog story. Our ratification was just that — the underrepresented and underpaid coming together and demanding better pay and equity with our artistic counterparts. In the end, we were heard and seen, and we have a pathway to further improving the conditions in which production management works.' Ellingsworth went on to say, 'We know our colleagues at DreamWorks Animation are in the middle of their negotiations, and we're wishing them all the luck, patience, and perseverance in their conversations. Production management is no stranger to strategizing to achieve their goals and navigating unexpected obstacles. There is no doubt they'll come out on top.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Walt Disney Animation Studios Production Workers Ratify First Contract
Production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios officially have a first union contract. In a ratification vote that took ended on Wednesday, 93 percent of participating bargaining unit members voted to support a deal reached on Feb. 13, while 7 percent voted against. Ninety-six percent of union members turned out to vote on the agreement, which is a sideletter to The Animation Guild's preexisting contract with Walt Disney Animation Studios. More from The Hollywood Reporter L.A. Times Owner Adds Bias Meter, AI-Generated Copy On Articles, Drawing Criticism From Guild 'Tiana' Disney+ Series Shelved as Walt Disney Animation Abandons Longform Streaming Content (Exclusive) After More Than Four Years of Talks, NBC News' Digital Editorial Staff Gets Tentative Contract Deal The agreement offers the unit's production coordinators, production supervisors and production managers pension and health benefits and amplified minimum wage rates. The union claims that minimum rates have gone up 24 percent for production managers, 29 percent for production supervisors and 35 percent for production coordinators as a result of the negotiation. 'It's been an uphill journey, but at long last, we've reached the mountaintop. We are standing in our breakthrough — stronger, bolder, and united,' production coordinator Tamara Lee said in a statement. Union organizer Allison Smartt called the contract 'historic' and said it will have 'positive impacts long into the future and throughout the animation industry' in a statement. In its press release, the union suggested that the provisions in the Disney agreement could have an impact on its ongoing first-contract negotiations with DreamWorks Animation for production workers. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Walt Disney Animation Studios for comment. Production workers at the studio began organizing in 2022, an effort that culminated in a vote at the National Labor Relations Board the following year. Roughly 93 percent of participating union members voted to join The Animation Guild, marking a decisive win for the union. Negotiations over a first contract began on April 11, 2024. While The Animation Guild has aggressively organized production workers across the industry in the past few years, it has framed the Disney bargaining unit as its first union of feature film production workers. The Disney union drive was followed by one at DreamWorks Animation that went public in early 2024. 'In Hollywood, we love an underdog story. Our ratification was just that — the underrepresented and underpaid coming together and demanding better pay and equity with our artistic counterparts,' said production supervisor Nicholas Ellingsworth in a statement. 'In the end, we were heard and seen, and we have a pathway to further improving the conditions in which production management works.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
