Remote Staffers At DreamWorks Have Ratified Their First Union Contract
Image Source: KQED
Back in January, remote workers for DreamWorks and Netflix voted to unionize with the Animation Guild in a bid to equalise working conditions. And they've already won the first victory! It has been the industry standard for house animators to receive a greater salary and more benefits (healthcare, etc) despite them working on the same project, with the same workload. Additionally, this doesn’t seem to be an issue among the administrative staff at many of these organisations, and seems to be unique to the creative teams.
But on August 21st votes were cast on a deal with DreamWorks to offer equal pay, workplace protections, and health and retirement benefits to their remote workers. The measures passed overwhelmingly (97% approval on an 83% turnout) and are hopefully the first step in a shift toward better practices. As animators traditionally haven’t been the best-treated group in Hollywood.
DreamWorks animator Anthony Holden was one of the key negotiators; he is best known for Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and The Forgotten Island. He made the following statement on the deal: “Our coworkers who work in-person at studios in L.A. enjoy mobility between employers with guaranteed benefits such as healthcare coverage and a pension plan. Many of us remote DreamWorkers have served for years (and in some cases decades) in the same industry without the same protections. Now we can work under the same terms as our union brothers and sisters. This contract represents an important shift towards broader industry change that values and respects not only artists’ skills but also our right to choose to live in locations around the country that are best for our families and personal circumstances.”
Let’s hope the rest of the industry follows suit!
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Source(s): Hollywood Reporter, Variety [1], [2]
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