In recent years, unions have taken a greater role in industries that demonstrated consistent opposition to these organizations. Not only in video games have we seen this, but multiple entertainment companies have done everything possible to offer a better work life to their employees, and It was recently revealed that the animators of disney They have finally managed to become part of a union.
Last Wednesday it was revealed that 63 Walt Disney Animation Studios employees, including production coordinators, production managers and production supervisors, voted to join The Animation Guild union in a National Labor Relations Board vote recount. Of a total of 68 voters, five workers voted against.
In a statement last Thursday, Animation Guild union organizer Allison Smartt commented:
“As the first production workers at an animation studio to unionize with TAG, Disney production workers are a shining example of tremendous teamwork, patience, strength and courage in the face of the company’s delaying tactics. “They watched and celebrated the vote count and took a moment to celebrate this victory and gather energy from each other as they prepare for the next step of this journey: landing a solid contract.”
For her part, Maggie Hughes, production coordinator, mentioned:
“The victory exemplifies the essence of why we are unionizing. “We knew throughout this process that everyone in our unit deserves to be eligible, but the company still decided to continue this long and arduous process in an attempt to split us up.”
The workers expressed their desire to unionize in March of this year, stating that Disney had denied their request to voluntarily recognize the group. But their organizing campaign began a year earlier, in the winter of 2022, when the group sought changes to wages and portable health care they could take with them to different jobs.
Producers at Walt Disney Animation Studios are the latest group to join The Animation Guild. Recently, The union has made progress with such workers as Nickelodeon, ShadowMachine, Titmouse New York and Titmouse Los Angeles. On related topics, Disney plans a sequel to Doug. Likewise, Disney revived a classic that traumatized an entire generation.
Editor’s Note:
Unions are important, and as more and more companies accept this, working conditions across different industries will improve substantially. We hope to hear more stories like these in the future, whether they have to do with the video game industry or not.
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