NEWS: Walt Disney Animation Employees Ratify First Union Contract

Walt Disney Animation Studios is responsible for some of our fondest movie memories.

The Animation Studios are responsible for some of our favorite films of all time, and they continue to create movies that make us laugh, cry, and everything in between. Now, production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios have ratified the first union contract EVER, according to Variety.

This historic agreement was reached after production workers overwhelmingly voted to unionize in February 2023. The ruling declares that full-time production coordinators, production supervisors, and production managers are eligible to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839.

The new contract gives production workers protections that include both pension and health benefits, as well as wage increases. These wage increases include a 24% increase for production managers, a 29% increase for production supervisors, and a 35% increase for production coordinators (who are generally the lowest-paid workers in production).

Production supervisor Nicholas Ellingsworth said, “In Hollywood, we love an underdog story. Our ratification was just that — the underrepresented and underpaid coming together and demanding better pay and equity with our artistic counterparts. In the end, we were heard and seen, and we have a pathway to further improving the conditions in which production management works.”

DreamWorks Animation’s production workers are also now working towards their first union contract.

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