Variety stated that Walt Disney Studios’ visual effects teams have taken a crucial step toward unionization by officially filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to initiate an election for this purpose. A significant number, more than 80%, of Walt Disney Pictures’ 18 in-house visual effects staff members have signed authorization cards, demonstrating their collective ambition.
This historic development is only the second time in history that visual effects professionals have banded together to demand the same safeguards and entitlements as their peers. Just this month, the visual effects crews at Marvel Studios decided to unionize as of August 21. The decisive moment of voting is scheduled for September 11, followed by the counting of votes the following day.
Individuals affiliated with the unionization movement are responsible for the sophisticated visual effects
Mark Patch, an organizer for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) specializing in visual effects, expressed, “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. 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.”
Individuals affiliated with the unionization movement are responsible for the sophisticated visual effects that adorn the studio’s extensive catalog, which includes titles such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Visual effects practitioners have largely stayed unaffiliated with unions since the field’s birth during the filming of the first Star Wars films in the 1970s and 1980s. As part of their drive toward unionization, these workers are demanding just pay for all hours worked, comprehensive healthcare provisions, retirement benefits, and, more broadly, parity in terms of rights and protections afforded to their unionized counterparts who are already represented by IATSE.
These demands resonate with the increasingly pervasive calls for enhancements throughout the visual effects industry and are validated by the findings of IATSE’s 2022 VFX Worker Rate and Conditions Survey, which was released in March.
