Many people are gathered outside at the #StandWithAnimation kick-off rally tonight at IATSE Local 80 in support of the Animation Guild’s upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP next week.
A massive crowd of animation workers, cartoon fans, and union members from other trades packed into the IATSE Local 80 parking lot in Burbank for the Stand With Animation Rally. It was a historic scene, with what looked like well over a thousand people showing up, making it possibly the biggest labor-related gathering in animation history.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI): 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 being potentially disrupted in the next 3years.
Significant layoffs: Significant layoffs and show cancellations have become increasingly common in the animation industry. Through anecdotal research and internal surveys, we estimate that one-third of TAG’s animation workforce has been laid off in the past year.
Outsourcing: Los Angeles County animation studios continue to send work to studios in Asia and Europe. Some of those studios, in turn, try to hire L.A. workers at lower rates without the benefits and protections provided by the union.
This afternoon’s rally was all about animation workers, backed by The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, flexing their muscles before they start negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Monday for a new Master Collective Bargaining Agreement. The event was hosted by Michael Rianda, the director of The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
During the speeches, a few topics consistently got the crowd riled up, especially anything to do with artificial intelligence and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Storyboard artists Nora Meek and Charlie Jackson fired up the crowd with a popular chant: “No Contract, No Cartoons,” as they called out specific executives and their actions.
A livestream of the rally recorded by Cartoon brew
