Are you interested in learning more about the Guild or contributing to member-run efforts? A great way is to join a TAG committee. You can start by simply attending a committee meeting to see if it’s something you’d like to be a part of.
Committees are focused on particular needs within the Union’s larger oversight. Nearly all elected Guild leadership have full-time jobs, and committees can help by diving deeper into specific issues and bringing knowledge and recommendations to the Executive Board. Participating in or leading a committee is a valuable way to grow and learn, plus you will make connections and build leadership skills that may help you in your career!
Along with committees, TAG also has groups, which are less formal gatherings of members with shared goals. Learn more about TAG’s committees and groups below.
COMMITTEES
TAG committees are created by TAG’s president, and all committee members are appointed by the president. Committees are constitutionally organized, made up of members in good standing who work together on shared goals. Learn more here.
The AI Committee is a group of TAG members committed to protecting workers against the labor threat posed by AI. Led by Roma Murphy and Sam Tung, both former members of the AI Task Force and the 2024 Negotiations Committee, they meet regularly to track AI usage in the industry, interpret the contract language regarding AI in members’ favor, and prepare for future developments in the technology. If you encounter AI in the workplace or you’re interested in joining the committee, please email ai@tag839.org. Chairs: Roma Murphy & Sam Tung The Designers Committee strives to organize efforts that are of interest or concern to designers by working to inform, educate, track industry trends, and share experiences as they relate to design. They wish to connect the design community and give a platform to share workplace issues and experiences. Ultimately, the Design Committee will serve as a resource and a community to help designers in the animation industry thrive. Chairs: Abdullah Kassem & Corwin Herse Woo The Afternoon of Remembrance is an annual, non-denominational ceremony to honor all the members of our animation community who died the previous year. It is not meant to supplant private family services. Instead, it is a way for our animation community to come together to remember our friends and colleagues. The Memorial Committee plans, organizes, and oversees the event. Chairs: Eugene Salandra & Tom Sito The People of Color Committee (POCC) aims to support ethnic minority members within The Animation Guild and address the systems of race and class that prevent American animation from being representative and inclusive. Through outreach, activism, and initiatives to engage the Guild and the animation industry at large, the POCC’s aim is to support Black and Indigenous members for the benefit of all members. Chairs: Crystal Kan & Jean Kang The Production Craft Committee’s goal is to address production specific concerns, build community and visibility in the industry. The Production Craft Committee hopes to cement production as a viable long-term career path, build information, and network among production workers. Chair: Kay Tinder The Queer TAG (QT) Committee seeks to assemble the LGBTQIA+ community in the industry and in the Union, spread visibility throughout the industry, foster community, address LGBTQIA+ issues within the general work of TAG, and promote security for our growing community. Chairs: Andy Garner-Flexner & Alex Quintas The Storyboard Committee’s mission is to facilitate a thriving community of events, resources, sub-committees, and channels of communication for a healthy culture and to best represent the storyboarding craft and its needs in negotiations. Chair: Jake Hollander & Maggie Dybas Do you want to be a Storyboard Craft rep? Learn more here. TAG ME, formerly known as TAG-TAG, stands for TAG Member Engagement. The group’s ultimate goal is to engage a supermajority of TAG members to empower our Union to enforce a contract post-ratification and be strike-ready. Interested in joining? Fill out the interest form here. The mission of this committee is to move Technical Directors out from the shadows and bring light to the work they do and the value they contribute to animation. Their goal is to form a unified coalition of the many and disparate skill sets operating under the TD classification, and in doing so, foster a greater sense of solidarity and community as they begin working together against the studios’ abuses of their labor. Chairs: Emily Abele & Steve Gallant The Writers Craft Committee’s goal is to better connect and represent writers in Local 839, meeting regularly to engage this group of members. Chairs: Madison Bateman & Eden Rousso Learn more about the craft through the committee’s informative virtual panel series. You can sign up for the committee email list here. Check out the WCC’s Showrunning Training Series here. The purpose of the Young Workers Committee is to foster a positive relationship (and stimulate engagement) with our newer (typically younger) members. YWC aims to engage our new members through social events so that they come to develop relationships to and through the Guild, hopefully laying the groundwork for our key long-term goal. Chairs: Natalie Arenzon and Rose Kang The purpose of the Young Workers Committee is to foster a positive relationship (and stimulate engagement) with our newer (typically younger) members. YWC aims to engage our new members through social events so that they come to develop relationships to and through the Guild, hopefully laying the groundwork for our key long-term goal. Chair: Amanda Texter-Donahue Email Amandantd@pm.me for more details.TAG Committees
Co-Chair: Yvette Kaplan
Co-Chairs: Abigail Bokun & Sharifa McCauley
Check out the WCC’s Craft page.
Co-Chairs: Nora Meek & Jess Sims
GROUPS
Groups are less formal than committees and are governed by fewer rules. They are similar to committees in that they are made up of members working together for common goals. Learn more here.
This craft group is reaching out to as many animators, union and not-yet-union alike, to build and organize a group infrastructure that helps foster unity and community in their craft. Goals include data collection, defining job classifications, and education to promote the growth of in-house animator jobs. Leaders: Robert Mariazeta, Ye Aung The Community Building and Events Group (CBaE Group for short) is a group whose primary focus is creating safe spaces through hosting events to help bring fellow artists and creatives together in fun and engaging ways. We’re all inclusive and mindful in our work as we aim to uplift not only those that are a part of TAG, but also our community that may be supporting our crafts or are working towards being our union-kin one day. We’re not a craft specific group, and are welcoming to all! At our core, we’re animation professionals with a deep passion for helping bring positivity to our communities through events! Also we’ve been known to collaborate with other TAG Committees and Groups to help join forces and co-host some really cool events! If there’s ever been an event you’d like to see happen and don’t know where to start, or if you would like to find out more about our group and might be interested in helping out, feel free to reach out to us at: tag.CBaE@gmail.com Leader: Ed Gaskew Health and Accessibility Accommodations (HAA) is a collective of TAG members dedicated to advocating for health, safety, and inclusivity of TAG members’ work environments. We advocate for the implementation of clean air, Covid precautions, contact tracing, Covid sick days, work from home/virtual accommodations, and providing (and encouraging the use of) PPE supplies such as KN95 masks in the office. We believe all TAG members, regardless of ability or health status, deserve to thrive in their workspaces. No one should have to choose between their health and longevity, and their paycheck. Leader: Arielle Yett The Testing Group addresses the issue of excessive and unpaid skills evaluations, more commonly known as “testing.” It hopes to dismantle this industry norm from the inside out by educating ALL of our membership on the role they play in perpetuating the standard of doing enormous amounts of work without compensation. The committee intends to do this through member outreach, with specialized approaches to both subordinates and supervisors, data collection, and the spreading of educational materials to our members and beyond. Chairs: Danny Lin Visit the Testing webpage where you can learn more and submit tests.TAG Groups