The Animation Guild’s solidarity rally held yesterday in Burbank, California, recorded a strong and spirited turnout. Organizers didn’t have a firm number of the turnout, but various numbers from the organizers have put the range between 300 to 900 people.
The rally was held in support of ongoing negotiations between The Animation Guild (TAG) IATSE Local 839, which represents animation workers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing film and television studios. Contract talks began last November, and the two sides have negotiated for an “unprecedented” twelve days, but have as yet been unable to reach an agreement. A new round of negotiations is set to begin tomorrow.
In previous articles – here and here – we’ve covered some of the issues that industry workers are trying to have addressed in their new three-year contract. TAG-represented workers have been working without a contract since last July, when the previous three-year contract expired.