‘Castlevania’ Studio Animation Workers Ratify First Union Contract

Animation workers at Texas' Powerhouse Animation Studios have overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first union contract.

Ninety-six percent of voting members at the Austin-based Castlevania producer supported the pact in a vote, the Animation Guild announced on Tuesday. The Hollywood Reporter has previously reported that the bargaining unit of more than 100 members includes both production workers and artists at the studio, folding in roles such as animator, background designer and production assistant.

The Powerhouse Animation Studios contract is only the second that Animation Guild members have ratified outside of L.A. County as the union continues to expand its reach beyond Southern California. (The first was at Titmouse New York , whose union members ratified their first contract in June 2023.)

Key provisions of the new contract were not immediately available, though the union's top negotiator described it as "one of the strongest agreements" the union has ever reached. "This is one of the strongest agreements we have been able to negotiate, and the crew's resolve to their priority issues is the reason," business representative Steve Kaplan said in a statement. "I also want to acknowledge the work Powerhouse and its leadership team put in. We all had to be flexible to get to the finish line, and they showed their commitment to being a productive partner with the Union in the negotiations."

Outside of Texas, Powerhouse Animation Studios has a small studio in Los Angeles that already has a contract with the Animation Guild.

In a statement, Powerhouse Animation Studios CEO and CCO Brad Graeber said the company was "proud and elated" that the union ratified the deal. "When we expanded to L.A. we began a good relationship with the union and have worked with them for years. But we are proud to be a studio that started in Austin, with deep roots in Texas. Having an animation union in Texas is a big deal and we are happy to be a part of this historic first," he said.

The contract marks the culmination of an organizing drive that first went public in April 2023 , with workers stating at the time that they were looking to institute more wage equality and job security with the drive. In July of that year, the studio voluntarily recognized the union.

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