Members of the Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) have voted to ratify their new three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The 2024-2027 Animation Guild Master Agreement received 76.1% support from voting members following months of negotiations.

While the new agreement garnered less support than the previous contract ratified in July 2022, which saw 87% approval, voter turnout surpassed the historic levels of the last cycle’s vote, which had already tripled prior turnout figures. This reflects an ongoing effort by Guild leadership to increase member engagement throughout the negotiation process.

Key Provisions of the 2024-2027 Agreement:

• Health and Pension Funds: Increased contributions without any reductions to healthcare benefits or additional costs for members.
• Wage Increases: 7% in the first year, 4% in the second year, and 3.5% in the third year.
• AI Protections: Written notifications for AI usage, consultations on production tools, and identification of non-Generative AI alternatives.
• On-Call and Dismissal Pay: Enhanced provisions.
• Leave Policies: New bereavement leave and additional sick days.
• Recognized Holidays: Recognition of Juneteenth as an official holiday.
• Craft-Specific Gains:
• Minimum staffing requirements for writers.
• Significant wins for storyboard artists.

Additionally, the Guild successfully advocated for gender-neutral bathrooms, with the agreement stipulating that "producers should make reasonable efforts to provide a gender-neutral bathroom at their owned facilities, which may include relabeling a single-occupancy bathroom to be gender neutral." Producers are also encouraged to provide menstrual products, such as tampons and menstrual pads, at no cost to employees at their facilities.

Despite broad approval, the contract faced some criticism from high-profile members, including Mike Rianda (The Mitchells vs. The Machines), Joey Clift (Paw Patrol), and Kelly Lynne D’Angelo (Spirit Rangers), who expressed concerns over the AI provisions.

TAG Business Representative Steve Kaplan acknowledged both the progress made and the challenges that remain, stating, “I want to recognize the incredible work that the Negotiations Committee put into seeing this agreement reached and ratified. This agreement is the next step forward in creating the strongest contract for our members. Plenty of advancements are made here, but there is also much work to be done regarding addressing the priority matters that were not fully answered. The membership made clear to us that there is a need for more focus on Generative Artificial Intelligence, and we will attack the issue through a multi-faceted approach including lobbying for effective legislation, advocating for tax incentives for human-made work, and grieving against potential abuses.”

Memorandum of Agreement: https://www.tagnegotiations2024.com/read-the-moa