As Negotiations Drag On, Animation Guild Members March on DreamWorks

Animation workers marched to the DreamWorks Animation offices on Tuesday to deliver a petition demanding a "fair deal" less than a week before their union contract negotiations restart.

Workers and supporters walked to the company's location in Glendale to deliver a petition that the union previously presented to Netflix during a similar demonstration on Oct. 24. The union says that hundreds attended this latest demonstration. "Members of The Animation Guild (TAG), IATSE Local 839, are facing unprecedented levels of unemployment despite animation outperforming on screens and in merchandise sales," the petition states . "Companies made poor decisions in the streaming wars and now animation workers are paying the price."

The Animation Guild has initiated this "March on the Boss" series of actions to demonstrate solidarity during a pivotal set of contract negotiations that will determine how animation studios use generative AI in L.A.-area union shops.

The union's petition claims that executives have recently canceled animated projects, curtailed production schedules and budgets and sent union work elsewhere, to cheaper jurisdictions. "We kept content alive during the COVID lockdown yet we are now losing our healthcare, homes, and livelihoods," the document states.

Signed by over 58,000 people, the document further states that in its current negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers the union is asking for wage increases, generative AI protections and restrictions on the outsourcing of local work. According to the union, these top issues remain on the table. "TAG members deserve a fair deal that sustains our industry with livable wages and job security. We cannot accept a contract that doesn't address our needs," the petition says. "We are ready to fight as hard as we need to and stand together as long as it takes."

The union is putting on the pressure six days out from a scheduled return to negotiations on Nov. 18. Its chief negotiator, Steve Kaplan, said that his group is "hopeful" that the two sides are nearing an agreement in a statement at the end of October. But as of now, the contract's expiration date has been extended to Dec. 2.

Character designer Michelle Drennan said in a speech to the demonstrators on Tuesday that "the AMPTP has not responded in a realistic way to our biggest asks." Citing "unprecedented and existential threats" to the field of animation, Drennan added, "We're not just going to sit back and take it."

Animator Ashley McGivern said in a statement, "I came out here because I'm personally sick and tired of there not being a sustainable model for us." She added, "In particular, [animators' jobs] have been outsourced for the better part of 30 to 40 years, and we're often under-appreciated. Now this is starting to happen to storyboard artists and layout artists, and I don't want to see this industry dissolve."

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to DreamWorks Animation and the AMPTP for comment.