Workers At Vancouver’s ‘Charlie the Wonderdog’ Studio Icon Creative Move Toward First Union Contract

The Canadian Animation Guild, IATSE Local 938, and Vancouver’s Icon Creative Studio have reached a tentative agreement on a first union contract covering more than 800 workers at the studio. The deal still requires employee ratification, with a vote expected in about three weeks’ time.

The agreement marks a significant milestone for Canada’s relatively young animation labor organization efforts. Icon workers officially unionized in June 2024, and bargaining began earlier this year. If ratified, the contract will run for two years.

In a statement, Canadian Animation Guild president Eddy Pedreira said:

Icon workers aren’t just world-class talent; they are a community where supervisors look out for junior workers, and folks from a dozen countries join together in their passion for storytelling. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished over this past year, and I look forward to a strong start to this partnership.

Icon president Shea Wageman also positioned the agreement as part of the studio’s continued growth, adding:

Icon’s artists have been the heart and soul of Icon’s success and amazing trajectory for over 13 years. We’re extremely excited to graduate to this next step with them together as a key component to our studio’s work on high-end series and animated feature films. So much passion exists at every level, and we’re very proud to continue to build Icon with them.

The deal is significant not only because of Icon’s massive size but also because the studio has become one of Canada’s most prominent CG animation producers. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Vancouver, Icon has worked with clients such as Disney, Netflix, Apple TV+, Warner Bros., Paramount, and Sony Pictures Animation, and recently released the original animated feature Charlie the Wonderdog, with plans to continue producing original theatrical films in the coming years.

The Canadian Animation Guild, formed in 2020, is Canada’s first animation-focused union local. In addition to animation workers, the organization has also been involved in organizing efforts across the VFX, gaming, and digital media industries.