By Carolyn Giardina
On the way to the union!
The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) and AMPTP concluded negotiations this week without reaching a deal. According to Variety, they plan to resume negotiations on a new three-year contract in mid-September.
TAG, which represents an estimated 5,000 artists, technicians, writers and production staff in the animation industry, began negotiations with the entity representing producers on August 12. The Master Agreement expires on Friday; traditionally, it would be renewed during this period.
As with other recent Hollywood labor negotiations, including the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations that led to last year’s historic double strike, central issues for the Animation Guild included Gen AI protections amid concerns about potential job displacement. In preparation for these negotiations, TAG collaborated with CAA and CVL Economics earlier this year on an impact study that predicted that 29% of animation jobs could be disrupted over the next three years.
