Following a weekend of solidarity events, The Animation Guild (IATSE 839) officially began its contract negotiations yesterday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

TAG members and supporters turned out in droves at a rally in Burbank on Saturday (August 10), with support also pouring in online through the #StandWithAnimation hashtag. Industry veterans like Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack), James Baxter (The Lion King), Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe) were among an estimated 2000-plus attendees—more than double the crowd that showed up for a previous rally in March 2022.

“To look out at this sea of people the weekend before we actually go in for negotiations was really inspiring,” says storyboard artist Kaitrin Snodgrass (My Little Pony: A New Generation). 

TAG is representing roughly 6,000 animation professionals (including artists, technicians, writers and production workers mostly based in LA) in these crucial negotiations that will boil down to three key issues—generative AI, outsourcing of work and widespread layoffs. 

The irony is not lost on many in the business that Hollywood animation is having such a lucrative year while job cuts are on the rise at streamers and studios. “As the studios we work for battle it out for industry dominance and profits, the artists, writers, technicians and production workers who actually make the cartoons have seen their job security crumble and wages stagnate while the cost of living increases,” says art director/designer Paula Spence (The Powerpuff Girls), who also serves on the TAG negotiations committee. “They’re afraid for their futures.”

Spence, who has more than 25 years of experience in the industry, says it’s a top priority to get protections from the use of generative AI—which was also a key issue for writers and actors in last year’s strikes. Animation is particularly susceptible to this new tech, and debates about if and how AI could be used ethically have proliferated of late. To illustrate job security concerns, Snodgrass points to former DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg’s controversial statement last year that AI could replace 90% of artist jobs in animation films in the future.

TAG’s negotiations are focused on “finding ways to regain some job security so that we can depend on being able to make a living and look forward to a retirement with dignity,” says Spence. “Technology has really driven the industry to new heights, but the workers who have been the driving force behind using it creatively haven’t been benefiting proportionately with animation industry growth.”

Both AI and outsourcing are intertwined in squeezing out artists, with outsourcing taking advantage of “lower overseas wages and working conditions” to boost profit, Snodgrass adds. TAG has previously highlighted how some overseas studios will also try to hire LA workers at lower rates without the benefits and protections provided by the union.  

One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told Kidscreen that job creep is also a major concern in the animation community. “Storyboard artists, for example, are often expected to take on additional roles like storyboarding, character design, prop design, editing and sound effects—all without proper compensation to account for the added labor.”

There’s also a slowdown in production due to the shift in how animated series are made and ordered. “Before streaming, one would be hired onto a show with a 24-episode season run. Today, you’re hired onto a show to board 20 episodes that will be released in 10-episode segments but packaged externally as two seasons,” this source notes. “To the public, this appears to be renewed seasons; but internally, this causes massive production delays.” 

Studios won’t greenlight the “true” second season until they have enough analytics from the second batch of eps—and long waits of more than a year stagnate employment for the many animation roles involved in a series, says this worker. “I have industry peers who have been unemployed for nearly two years because of these production slowdowns. Many have left LA or changed careers entirely.”

With negotiations now underway, Spence hopes to see the hiring and production slump come to an end. “Happy animation workers make the smartest, funniest, most creative, most beautiful and most entertaining cartoons—so turn on those greenlights and let us at it!”

Featured image: Saturday’s pre-negotiations rally in Burbank (Courtesy of Tim Sullens Photography)