Visual effects crews at Walt Disney Pictures filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election to unionize with the backing of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union announced Monday. This marks only the second time in history VFX professionals have come together to demand the same rights and protections as their unionized colleagues throughout the film industry — the other being Marvel VFX workers’ similar filing just this month.
Walt Disney Pictures, part of Walt Disney Studios, has been at the forefront of the entertainment industry for a century. Established originally as Walt Disney Productions, it was renamed in 1983. The unionizing VFX workers are responsible for creating the VFX across the studio’s impressive catalog, including the live-action adaptations of animated classics The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin as well as the ride-based Pirates of the Caribbean blockbusters, among others.
The historic move follows a supermajority (over 80%) of the 18 in-house VFX crewmembers at Walt Disney Pictures signed authorization cards signaling their desire to unionize. With today’s filing, a labor board election could commence as soon as two to three weeks. If a majority of these workers vote in favor of unionizing in that election, the studio would be required to begin good-faith negotiations for a contract covering these workers as a group.
“Today, courageous visual effects workers at Walt Disney Pictures overcame the fear and silence that have kept our community from having a voice on the job for decades,” said IATSE VFX Organizer Mark Patch. “With an overwhelming supermajority of these crews demanding an end to ‘the way VFX has always been,’ this is a clear sign that our campaign is not about one studio or corporation. It’s about VFX workers across the industry using the tools at our disposal\ to uplift ourselves and forge a better path forward.”
While positions like production designers/art directors, camera operators, sound, editors, hair & makeup artists, costumes/wardrobe, script supervisors, grips, lighting, props and paint (among others) have historically been represented by IATSE in motion picture and television, workers in VFX classifications have not. VFX job classifications have largely remained non-union since the modern industry was pioneered during production of the first Star Wars films in the 1970s.
The unionizing workers are demanding fair compensation for all hours worked, adequate health care, retirement benefits and, more generally, the same rights and protections afforded to their unionized coworkers who are already represented by IATSE. These demands echo the increasingly prevalent calls for improvements across the VFX industry, and are corroborated with the sentiment uncovered by IATSE’s 2022 VFX Worker Rate and Conditions Survey, which was published in March.
IATSE has reported unprecedented demand for unionization across all sectors of the entertainment industry, and this groundbreaking move by Walt Disney Pictures’ VFX workers is part of a massive wave of organizing throughout the business. Earlier this month, workers at Gladius Studios across animation, VFX and video game classifications voted unanimously to unionize with The Animation Guild (TAG), IATSE Local 839.
Following Marvel Studios VFX Workers’ unprecedented filing earlier this month, the labor board’s unionization election for the studio is now underway, with the votes set to be counted September 12.
“The determination of these VFX workers is not just commendable, it’s groundbreaking,” said Matthew D. Loeb, International President of IATS. “Their collective action against the status quo represents a seismic shift in this critical moment in our industry. The chorus of voices demanding change is unprecedented, and demonstrates our united movement is not about any one company, but about setting a precedent of dignity, respect and fairness for all.”
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees or IATSE (full name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada), is a labor union representing over 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live events, motion picture and television production, broadcast and trade shows, in the United States and Canada.
