Monday, November 20, 2017

2017 Wage Survey Results

2017 Wage Survey - image courtesy opedge.com
Thanks to everyone that completed the 2017 on-line wage survey! A record number of responses were received this year!
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Sunday, October 15, 2017

Mustang: Crew strikes, achieves union contract w/ benefits

Organizing is a key piece of preserving union wages, benefits and working conditions.
Last week, crew members on the Legende Films production of Mustang walked off the set, on strike for benefits and better working conditions. On Thursday, an IATSE contract was successfully negotiated and production resumed with a union crew! Kudos to IATSE International Representative Jamie Fry (@the_Jamie Fry) and all those that helped with the effort!

http://deadline.com/2017/10/iatse-pickets-mustang-movie-wins-contract-focus-features-1202188155/


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Saturday, September 30, 2017

Why Janus vs. AFSCME matters to you

The President and the nine Justices of the Supreme Court -
photo by Fred Schilling / Supreme Court via AP

Janus vs. AFSCME is a landmark case that the Supreme Court was deadlocked on ( 4-4 ) after Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died in February 2016. With the recent appointment of conservative Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, there's likely to be a ruling.

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Sunday, September 10, 2017

2017 Creative Arts Emmy Awards - Night 1

Emmy statuettes - Rex/Shutterstock
Night 1 of the Creative Arts Emmys had a lot of great animation recognized! "Bob's Burgers" won Outstanding Animated Program (Fox, Bento Box) for the second time (also won in 2014). Read on for more winners...

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The 2017 Wage Survey

'Wage" by Brooke Novak on Flickr
The annual wage survey should have arrived in your e-mail box on Tuesday. Your participation in this anonymous survey of wages (and the Guild's reporting out of results) helps you negotiate on more equal footing the next time you look for a job.

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Monday, August 07, 2017

Wage Stagnation

From http://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/

Wage stagnation is a problem for everybody, including recent college graduates.

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Sunday, July 30, 2017

Standard CBA minimums go up on July 30, 2017.

image courtesy of memberclicks.com.

On Sunday, July 30, 2017, wage minimums in the Local 839 Master Agreement and the Nickelodeon Agreement increase. The increase to the minimums will be three percent.

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Tuesday, July 04, 2017

Congratulations, Tom Sito!

TAG President Emeritus Tom Sito (photo courtesy USC)


On June 29, 2017, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its newly elected 2017–18 Board of Governors...

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Saturday, July 01, 2017

Job Posting: The Animation Guild is hiring a Magazine Editor

Help Local 839 fill in the blanks and get some color in here.



The Animation Guild is hiring a Magazine Editor for a new quarterly publication.

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Monday, June 12, 2017

Monday, May 29, 2017

In Memoriam: Bill Littlejohn

Bill Littlejohn - image via awn.com

Aeronautical engineer, Army test pilot, animator on "Peanuts" and ASIFA-Hollywood co-founder.

And of course, union organizer too. Thank you, Bill Littlejohn!

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Thursday, May 18, 2017

Variety's "10 Animators to Watch" 2017

The 2017 Variety "10 Animators to Watch" Honorees
Amazing talent was celebrated a couple weeks ago at Quixote Studios. The 3rd annual Variety's "Ten Animators to Watch" event was a sneak peek at a bunch of names that you will no doubt be seeing more of in the future...

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Monday, April 24, 2017

No Strike - No Lockout: What Does It Mean?


The Union agrees during the existence of this Agreement, unless the Producer fails to comply with an arbitration award, not to strike against, picket or boycott the Producer for any reason whatsoever, and to order its members to perform their obligations to the Producer hereunder and to use its best efforts to get the employees to perform such obligations.
Article 21J, TAG-Local 839 Master Agreement, (page 104)


No Strike, No Lockout is a common clause in labor agreements. Local 839 has one in every agreement - but we're certainly not alone in this. 

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Thursday, April 06, 2017

Why You Should Ask For More

The TAG-Local 839 Master Agreement. No upper limits.
All our contracts are written so that there is no upper limit on the benefits or wages you may negotiate. The key phrase is "better conditions..." - and you can find it on page 6...

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Monday, March 27, 2017

How Residuals Keep Your Health Plan Strong

Residuals were nearly one quarter of MPIPHP funding in 2016.
source: MPIPHP / Local 871 Pre-Retirement Seminar

I was talking with an artist the other day, and she asked "Why don't we get residuals? "We do," I said, "just not in the way you think."


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Saturday, March 18, 2017

How to Plan for Negotiations



Yesterday marked the end of the first week of the Writer's Guild negotiations with the AMPTP. The DGA has already concluded their negotiations, finishing up before the New Year. While we wait to see what happens next with the WGA, here are some takeaways regarding preparing for negotiations:


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Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Your Weingarten Rights

Weingarten Rights - this card may save your job!

As a union member, you have a right to union representation at certain meetings. Read more about the three rules that are collectively known as "Weingarten Rights".

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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Animation Wage-Fixing Lawsuit

The wage-fixing web: chart courtesy Bloomberg Graphics

Here's what you need to know about the wage-fixing lawsuit. It's real. Make sure your contact details are correct.


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Sunday, February 12, 2017

The 2017 Sci-Tech Awards

The proud winners of the 89th Academy Awards Scientific and Technical Awards (Photo by Buckner/Variety/REX/Shutterstock).

Congratulations to the winners of the Technical Achievement awards!

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Sunday, February 05, 2017

The 2017 Annie Awards



UCLA's Royce Hall was the place to be Saturday night if you like animation. Here are the winners from the 41st annual Annie Awards - congratulations to all!

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Friday, February 03, 2017

Artists, We Support You.

Executive Order 9066 led to signs like this. Let's not let this happen again.

Recent events have heightened anxieties for many. I write to remind you that we are here for the entire animation community. Here's what we provide:

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Monday, January 30, 2017

Don't Panic, Organize!



From the first day of my first IATSE General Executive Board meeting, here are my takeaways:

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Monday, January 23, 2017

Employee or Contractor?



Some studios offer work under independent contractor arrangements rather than hiring artists as employees. “1099” v. “W-2”. In most cases this is a bad deal for artists. Here are some facts:

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Monday, January 16, 2017

Working for Free - Don't.


How do you get experience if you have no experience? How do you get started working?

( Spoiler alert - I'm against working for free. )

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Monday, January 09, 2017

Unconscious Bias - it's a thing.


In Zootopia, you can be anything you want to be. Just watch out for unconscious beliefs held by others...

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Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Coming Up Roses...

John Ramirez, Mark Osborne and son at the 2017 Rose Parade.

Congratulations to Guild member John Ramirez! (shown above with the Little Prince float he designed for Netflix, photo via Tom Sito)

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