Field Rep and Political Coordinator Leslie Simmons breaks down new laws that took effect in 2023. With the dawn of 2023, several new worker-friendly laws in California went into effect. Although some may not directly affect TAG members, they are laws that labor unions endorsed and lobbied to pass, and it’s important to share in…

The 2022 IATSE District 2 Convention will be held in San Francisco June 24th-26th. For the fourth year in a row, The Animation Guild delegation will propose a record number of resolutions to be introduced and voted on by the delegates of the IATSE Locals in Arizona, California, Hawai‘i, and Nevada that make up District…

As the Guild’s membership continues to grow, so does our need to expand the way we support members. The Executive Board is pleased to announce the newest addition to The Animation Guild’s staff, Member Programs Coordinator Jackie Huang! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey. I moved to Los Angeles from…

The 2021 IATSE District 2 Convention will be held virtually this coming Sunday, July 25th. For the third year in a row, The Animation Guild delegation will propose a record number of resolutions to be introduced and voted on by the delegates of the IATSE Locals in Arizona, California, Hawai‘i, and Nevada that make up…

On Apr. 27th, The Animation Guild held its first Town Hall in preparation for negotiations. This meeting aimed to inform members about the negotiations process, introduce the Negotiations Committee, and share details about the proposal process. If you were unable to attend the event, please take a moment to review some of the “non-sensitive” information…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our IATSE Live Entertainment Union sisters and brothers have faced prolonged unemployment with an unforeseeable end in sight. As we all know, the ramifications of long term unemployment can be devastating. For those of us who have been lucky enough to weather the COVID-19 storm, this is our chance to…

If you are an Animation Writer (who is not a weekly employee) and you are being asked to pitch for an Intellectual Property owned by a studio, it’s time you get paid for your work. Employers are required to pay for all time worked excluding meetings considered to be de minimis (short meetings where no…

At the recent D2 Convention held on Saturday, October 24th, The Animation Guild delegates submitted four resolutions to the assembly and all four passed. Here we briefly summarize the resolutions. Resolution to Research Health Insurance Inclusion of Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening, Diagnosis,  Treatment, and Intervention In Our Health Insurance Plans IATSE members and their dependents…

Recently, a multi-union coalition composed of representatives from the IATSE, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, the Teamsters, and the Hollywood Basic Crafts negotiated a set of return to work policies and protocols in order to provide a unified set of rules to follow for returning the entertainment industry back to work. IATSE President Matthew Loeb entered the negotiations…

It is not uncommon for animation studios to hire employees under the “On Call” provisions of our agreement. But what exactly is “On Call”?  The Fair Labor Standards Act is the labor law that, among the many things it established, brought wage minimums and overtime into the US workplace. Since its enactment in 1938, amendments…

With all that’s in the news around this year’s election, you may not have heard much about two upcoming propositions on the ballot. To save jobs and demand good wages, the LA County Federation of Labor is recommending YES on Prop 15 and NO on Prop 22. Big corporations are spending hundreds of millions of dollars…

The pandemic has shown that TAG members are not only talented, but they are nimble and can transition to working effectively from home. This ability to quickly adapt to a new situation has helped sustain the animation industry when much of live-action entertainment has halted. Of course, the new situation has changed the landscape of…