The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) is now the first of Hollywood’s unions to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The guild announced the move in a statement posted to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. The post included a link to a labor movement petition calling for the return of hostages taken by Hamas, for President Joe Biden to immediately call for a cease-fire and for “the basic rights of people” in Gaza to be restored.
“In the struggle for human rights and the protection of innocent lives, The Animation Guild stands for justice across the globe, and officially calls for a cease-fire in Israel and Palestine,” the guild’s statement said.
“Respect for varying perspectives, even when we disagree, is crucial for maintaining the harmony and strength of our organization. We urge everyone to be respectful in their comments,” the guild said in a follow-up post.
The petition the guild shared, titled “The U.S. Labor Movement Calls for Cease-Fire in Israel and Palestine,” boasts signatures by an array of labor unions. Among the listed signatories are the American Postal Workers Union, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America and a wide variety of education-related unions.
Hollywood’s unions, however, have largely refrained from taking official positions on how the war in the Middle East should be resolved, though most have strongly condemned antisemitism as well as the violence committed by Hamas, along with similar condemnations of bigotry against Muslims.
Some guilds have seen internal strife over the conflict, particularly the Writers Guild of America. In the days following the Oct. 7 attack, SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America were among those to condemn Hamas, but WGA members couldn’t come to agreement on a joint statement.
Ultimately, the guild as a whole chose not to issue a statement of any kind, though the WGA East did condemn both Islamophobia and antisemitism in a statement that made no mention of the Hamas attack.
