The Animation Guild announced on Tuesday that Nickelodeon Animation has agreed to voluntarily recognize it as the bargaining representative for the studio’s production workers after the overwhelming majority signed unionization cards last month, bypassing the need for a unionization vote with the National Labor Relations Board.
The proposed bargaining unit would cover 177 production workers, making it the largest unit among such workers to affiliate with the Animation Guild, a.k.a. IATSE Local 839. Among the positions covered by the bargaining unit are Production Managers, Production Coordinators, Post-Production Assistants, and Asset Production Coordinators among others.
Nickelodeon Animation and The Animation Guild already have a collective bargaining agreement that covers 400 animation staffers, including storyboard artists and CG animators. No negotiation dates for a bargaining agreement for the production workers have been set, though the negotiations committee for the Nickelodeon bargaining unit will expand to include representatives for production workers.
When the Nickelodeon production workers first announced their intent to unionize last month, they cited wages below the cost of living as a primary factor for the labor drive. During last year’s contract negotiations between the Animation Guild and AMPTP, many animation workers from a wide range of positions and studios called out their employers for not providing enough pay to keep up with rent, childcare and other costs in Los Angeles, where most union animators live and work.
“I am glad that we were able to reach an agreement where Nickelodeon Animation Studios recognized both the determination of the animation production workers and our long-standing productive labor relations relationship. I look forward to bargaining a successor agreement,” said Steve Kaplan, Business Representative for The Animation Guild.
“Nickelodeon Animation Studios supports its talented and dedicated production workers who play an
instrumental role in the making of our content. The studio’s collaborative relationship with The Animation
Guild spans many years, and we look forward to bargaining an agreement with the union covering this new group of employees,” said Brian Keane, EVP of Production and Operations for Nickelodeon Animation.