Animation Guild’s master deal negotiations, originally scheduled to continue only through Thursday, have been paused for the year and are expected to resume in 2022.
The Animated Writers Association Twitter account, operated by the Local Writers Crafts Commission, confirmed news on friday. “The Animation Guild negotiators are very strong. Talks will resume at a later date. Thank you all for your continued support. Your posts and best wishes are all. The fight isn’t over until we get the #NewDealforAnimation. ” A date to return to the bargaining table has not yet been set. Deadline was the first to report the pause in negotiations.
Negotiations for the new IATSE Local deal began on November 29, and the union has announced that at least two key priorities for members this year include raising the minimum level of activist writers to the same rate as the writers of the Writers Guild of America and improve streaming compensation. (The union has kept mum on other issues it will raise with its employer bargaining representative, the Union of Film and Television Producers.)
TAG is in private talks with the 13 West Coast Locals covered by the IATSE Basic Agreement, the latest of which was ratified by delegates in November after a lengthy and controversial period of negotiations.
Ahead of the negotiation period, TAG members rolled out the hashtag #PayAnimationWriters to focus attention on the disparity between the minimum rates for Animation Guild writers and writers working in both operations. Pictures and live-action for the Writers Guild of America. (WGA includes some animation writing jobs, such as writing on The Simpsons.)
As part of that campaign, TAG claims that their writers make 26 to 66 percent less each freelance script for a scripted series is half an hour long against live-action WGA writers, and as of May 1, 2021, do the least about $1,900 to $2,995 per week as a staff writer on a half-hour scripted series.
On Friday and Saturday, TAG members expressed on social media their wish to keep their unity and energy going into the new year. “NSThe studio wanted us to cool off during the break. If we want a # NewDeal4Animation It’s important that we keep our crazy attitude and keep fighting! ” writer Joey Clift, Camp Nick writer, tweeted.
“Never been proud of how @animationguild fought so hard for all the animators! # NewDeal4Animation no matter how long it takes,” said Bill Wolkoff, lead writer for Kipo and the Age of Elves.
