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Looking back at 2022

Alexandra Drosu / January 9, 2023

TAG News / no comments

As we look back on TAG in 2022, the words “first,” “historic,” and “unprecedented” occur often. TAG grew in L.A. TAG grew across the country. TAG members are more active than ever before. Read about some highlights from a truly successful year.

JANUARY

TAG hit the ground running in 2022. For the first time since our Union was chartered in 1952, Local 839 represents a studio outside of Los Angeles County. Animation workers at Titmouse New York studios overwhelmingly voted to join The Animation Guild.

On January 18, The Animation Guild celebrated its 70th anniversary.

FEBRUARY

An annual tradition for more than 25 years, The Afternoon of Remembrance went virtual once again and honored those who passed away in the animation industry in 2020.

Setting off a domino effect for production workers in 2022, a supermajority of production workers at Rick and Morty/Solar Opposites (Adult Swim and 20th Century Fox) filed to join The Animation Guild on February 22.

On February 28, Titmouse LA filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to hold Union elections to be represented by The Animation Guild.

With TAG negotiations underway, the Writers’ Craft Committee produced a #PayAnimationWriters video campaign featuring showrunners, high-profile writers and local politicians like L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman. The first video alone had more than 100,000 Twitter views in its first 24 hours.

MARCH

On March 20, a historic Animation Guild rally took place in Burbank to show solidarity with the TAG Negotiations Committee. At least 1,000 people includ- ing TAG members, animation production workers, IATSE kin, local politicians, and community members attended this empowering event.

APRIL

Young Workers Committee chair Nora Meek and Executive Board member Crystal Kan represented TAG at the 2022 Young Workers Committee Conference in Minneapolis.

MAY

More production crews joined the TAG family: ShadowMachine and the trio of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad! at 20th TVA.

A member of the Titmouse NY Negotiations Committee, Rachel Gitlevich represented TAG at the White House as part of an unprecedented meeting with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary of Labor Walsh.

On May 26, TAG reached a tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). This came after almost a month’s worth of negotiation days spread out between November of 2021 to May of 2022. These were some of the most focused and member-led negotiations in the Guild’s history.

JULY

Following unprecedented member outreach through committees, shop stewards, social media, in-house communications, and phone and text banking by the Guild’s TAG Tactical Action Team, TAG members voted to ratify the 2021-2024 Animation Guild Master Agreement with a historic voter turnout and 87% of the votes cast in favor of ratification.

AUGUST

After being shuttered for more than two years because of the pandemic, Gallery 839 reopened on August 4 with an exhibition of animation veterans: Robert Tyler, Floyd Norman, Christine Mallouf, and Lureline Weatherly.

SEPTEMBER

TAG began its solidarity campaign with VFX workers with a joint phone bank on September 25.

New York’s Tooning Out the News filed a petition for a Union election with the Na- tional Labor Relations Board, expanding TAG’s reach beyond Los Angeles County.

Production workers at Bob’s Burgers and Central Park (Bento Box Animation) achieved voluntary recognition, joining the ever-growing roster of production crews represented by TAG.

OCTOBER

Organizer Allison Smartt joined the TAG staff, working with Organizer Ben Speight to continue to grow TAG’s footprint both in Los Angeles and throughout the country.

NOVEMBER

TAG members voted in new Animation Guild Officers and Executive Board Members. President Jeanette Moreno King; Vice President Teri Hendrich Cusumano; Business Representative Steve Kaplan; Recording Secretary Paula Spence; Sergeant-at-Arms Danny Ducker; Trustees Carrie Liao, Ashley Long, and Roger Oda; and Mairghread Scott, Candice Stephenson, Alex Quintas, Madison Bateman, Brandon Jarratt, Justin Weber, Erica Smith, and Marissa Bernstel.

As part of TAG’s 70th Anniversary celebration and ongoing community outreach, TAG partnered with the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission to paint four murals at the Burbank Animal Shelter.

DECEMBER

Nickelodeon production workers organized to join TAG, becoming the largest unit of production workers to unionize.

The annual Post-It Note show was held virtually and in person on December 6, raising more than $3,500 dollars for the IATSE PAC.

Also back in person was the annual Holiday Gift Market. With dozens of TAG members selling art, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and more, it drew a full house of shoppers to the TAG building on December 8.

With its winter publication this month, Keyframe magazine marked its 5th anniversary.

 

 

 

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