Animation Guild Members Have Ratified A New 3-Year Contract

The Guild credits increased engagement, hiring of communications staff, investing in mobilization strategies, and supporting member committees and member-run initiatives for increased engagement among members.

According to the Guild, some of the key gains secured by the negotiations committee include:

• Establishing wage minimums for streaming derivative and original work. Programs that fell under the New Media High Budget threshold provided for freely negotiable wages. Now, derivative and original productions of at least 11-minutes in length and budgeted at $25,000 or more per minute are subject to wage minimums.
• For the first time in the history of the agreement, writers have their own job classification, and a framework to build a ladder of progression. The progression has added new classifications for wage minimums, and addresses issues related to compensation for experienced writers who are not in a supervisory role.
• Created a pathway for Union-covered remote work outside of L.A. County in an unpublished side letter. The employers agreed that members who have been working remotely outside the state can continue to do so and be covered by the agreement under specific circumstances. This was not a mandatory subject of bargaining.
• Extended parental leave protections to address other life events, such as caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
• Retroactive wage increases.

“This ratification vote shows that the membership has acknowledged the incredible work of our negotiations subcommittees and dedicated themselves to continuing the work. While we achieved significant gains, we were not able to reach all the priorities we set out to achieve and that our members deserve,” said TAG business representative Steve Kaplan.

A detailed timeline of Guild’s negotiations can be found here (pdf). Review the Memorandum of Agreement here (pdf).