The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839

The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 is a professional guild and union of animation artists, writers and technicians. It was formed in 1952. In 2002, the organization changed its name from Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists.
The full name of the organization is The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations/Canadian Labour Congress.
Governance.
The Animation Guild is governed by its membership, which meets every two months. To supervise the Guild's affairs, every three years the membership elects a sixteen-person Executive Board by secret mail ballot. The Executive Board meets every month. As of December 2016, the key executives on the Board are:
The Business Representative is the only paid, full-time elected official of the Guild, which also has a paid staff. All other Board members work at studios under the Guild's jurisdiction.
Collective bargaining agreements.
The Animation Guild negotiates and enforces collective bargaining agreements, or CBAs, with companies employing persons under its jurisdiction. These CBAs:
All of the terms and conditions of Animation Guild CBAs are "minimums"; that is, any employee working under a CBA has the unrestricted right to negotiate better terms and conditions than those set forth in the CBA. Such better terms and conditions include but are not limited to:
The text of the Guild's current CBAs and sideletters can be found on their website.
Animation Guild 401(k) Plan.
Although not part of the CBA, the Guild sponsors a multi-employer, employee-funded 401(k) to which virtually all of its employers are signed. The 401(k) was administered by Mass Mutual in the past, but is currently managed by The Vanguard Group.
Jurisdiction.
The Animation Guild's jurisdiction is determined by its parent body, the IATSE, and as defined in its CBA.
Work jurisdiction.
The Guild covers all artistic, creative and technical job categories in the animation process, with the following exceptions:
Although the Guild's traditional jurisdiction was limited to those working on animated films, in recent years the Guild has expanded to the point where a significant percentage of its members are employed in motion picture computer graphics. Today, both 2D and 3D artists work under the Guild's jurisdiction, both in animation and live action.
In 2009, the Guild negotiated bargaining terms for streaming television when it was "something of a quirk," leading to a push by some in the animation industry, and the Guild itself, for better working conditions for those in the industry.
Geographical jurisdiction.
All of the Animation Guild's current collective bargaining agreements are with employers in southern California. The IATSE and other IA locals have jurisdiction over animation in other areas of the United States and Canada.
Employers.
Animation studios signed with TAG.
As of 2022, the following animation studios were signed to collective bargaining agreements with the Animation Guild:
Payroll companies.
The Guild also signs collective bargaining agreements with payroll companies. Payroll companies perform the payroll and other administrative functions (often including human resources) for small companies and unincorporated animation projects, and serve as the employer of record for purposes of making Guild health insurance, 401(k) plan and pension payments, and processing grievances. Payroll companies signed to the CBA include:
Membership requirements.
Membership in the Animation Guild can be acquired in either of two ways:
Membership by employment.
Animation artists, writers and technicians who are hired by employers signed to Guild CBAs will be required to join the Guild after thirty days' employment. The one-time initiation fee consists of two weeks' minimum scale wages for the job category in which the applicant has been hired.
Dues are charged quarterly and are also based upon the scale rate for the job category as of the beginning of the quarter. As of August 2008 the highest dues rate is $101.00.
Membership by organizing.
Animation artists, writers and technicians who are employed by companies that do not have TAG agreements, may become members if and when the company is organized. Potential members may assist the Guild in its organizing efforts by signing a confidential representation card.
After the employer is organized and signed to a collective bargaining agreement, employees often are brought into membership without initiation fees.
NewDeal4Animation.
NewDeal4Animation was a Tweet protest created in November 17 by The Animation Guild, advocating for equal pay between animation writers and live-action writers, also citing the effects of COVID-19 on their jobs. In a February 2021 video campaign featuring various animation writers, the Guild said that animation writers received less than half of live-action writers' pay. Other cited issues included changes in the workflow of studios, such as increased workload, out of proportion with shorter development time from technological advances; and paying animators for large first seasons at a lower rate (pay boosts are given for renewed series), but splitting that season into multiple smaller seasons for viewers. Negotiations for a new contract between TAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers—their last contract expired on October 30, 2021—began in November 2021, and in May 2022, a new contract was agreed to, with retroactive additional wages and special clauses for remote work.