10/6/21 The Animation Guild- IATSE Local 839 (ONLINE)
THE ANIMATION GUILD IATSE LOCAL 839
Introduction by Stefie Gan
Jackie Huang
Jackie Huang moved to Los Angeles after high school to attend the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Shortly after graduating, she returned to school to study illustration at Art Center College of Design. While freelancing as a paper artist, Jackie also founded Motivarti and created mentorship program. Shortly after, she joined Cartoon Network Studios as their Animation Talent Development Manager where she headed the artistic recruiting team. Currently she is the Members Program Coordinator at The Animation Guild, while freelancing as a paper artist in her spare time.
The Animation Guild, also known as Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), was founded in 1952. As a labor union, we represent more than 5,000 artists, technicians and writers in the animation industry, advocating for workers to improve wages and conditions.
"How to Get Your Start in Animation" - https://animationguild.org/how-to-get-started-in-animation/
Shengwei Zhou (szhou894@usc.edu):
ReplyDeleteThe existence of TAG can provide protection for most animation artists just like the trade union. A good working environment can maximize the imagination and creative enthusiasm of creators.
But after listening to today's lecture, I still have some questions and doubts.
Why some animation practitioners such as stop-motion animators are not covered in the plan. Jackie's explanation is that most stop-motion animation companies and studios have not established the union. This makes me wonder, why only stop-motion animation companies and studios are not involved? Is it because stop-motion animation is no longer a mainstream animation today? Because it is marginalized, it has not formed a union? If stop-motion animation is rejected because it is too niche, isn't the survival of stop-motion animators relatively more difficult and insecure?
The same situation applies to game designers. They are not covered only because of the mobility of their working identities. They can be both animators and game creators, but is it difficult to be covered because of this fluidity of their identities? Many jobs today require interdisciplinary talents and employees with cross-professional backgrounds and cross-disciplinary skills. This is especially true in the game industry. It requires film and television practitioners, animators, and interaction designers and programmers. How to ensure the rights of these practitioners in highly intersecting industries are issues that we need to think about further. In my opinion, this is not fair to those compound talents who are really creative in many interdisciplinary aspects.
I really hope that one day these individuals could have opportunities to join the plan and get the rights and secures. Hope it will be more comprehensive somedays.
Hi Shengwei- Whether or not someone is covered depends on the studio they work for. There are also a lot of non-union studios. (BTW, one good thing about the Animation Guild that was not mentioned is that you can work at both union and non-union studios without penalties. That’s not true with other unions.) So if animators at a stop motion studio (or any non-union studio) wanted to unionize they could if they had a majority vote. But like Jackie said, you could be fired for trying to unionize, so it can be a little scary. The companies don’t like their employees to unionize because they will have to pay them more. I hope stop motion animation studios will unionize, because they work hard and are often taken advantage of.
DeleteJackie from the Animation Guild gave us an informative presentation today. It may still be a bit early for us students to get into details about unions when most of our focus is on getting the job first. But Jackie did a great job giving us a general idea—just enough information about how the union works and what benefits we get out of it. In a way, the presentation motivated us to keep pursuing a successful career in the industry by letting us know the benefits we can get once we get a job in a union company. It also relieves us to a certain extent by letting us know that the union has got our backs! Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteCherry Guo (guomengy@usc.edu)
Aisha Jamila Harper (5377-7371-00 // ajharper@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteI found the union information Jackie provided extremely helpful! I, sadly, don’t know much about unions or their benefits, so this was massively beneficial. It was also a nice change of pace to see the other aspects of animator life. I had never really considered what benefits I could potentially have. This sheds more light on how working for a studio might be more beneficial, rather than just doing freelance work. It also gives me a great peace of mind knowing that my family can be taken care of through my union benefits! I also seriously appreciated the bonus advice Jackie provided in regards to career mobility within the animation career; I found it to be very reassuring and a guiding light in figuring out where I would like to end up later on down the line.
Overall, I’m leaning more towards working with a studio now. Hopefully, there are plenty of jobs that allow remote working with the same benefits. (Edit: I just found out that we have to be in the same jurisdiction D:) That’s research that I’ll have to do on my own, but Jackie’s advice has given me a great head start.
Hi Aisha- It's a good idea to research studios you are interested in, find out if they are part of the Guild, and if not what benefits they offer. The culture in each studio can vary tremendously. We don't often talk about quality of life issues, but it will become very important to you once you are employed.
Delete-Sheila
Kacey Layson (klayson@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteHaving Jackie Huang present information on IATSE this week for Seminar was very informative and interesting! I have heard about The Animation Guild (TAG) from Lightbox Expo and Studio Day from the previous year- but I have not completely understood what they represent and to what extent their benefits cover for animators within union studios. I think it’s never too early for us as animation students to learn more about the differences between union and non-union studios as well as the benefits or factors that come with each. It was cool to learn about the benefits that come with a union studio- like the benefits of healthcare, classes, clubs, and opportunities to meet industry professionals within the guild.
Jackie also mentioned that TAG is great to network and form a relationship with the community of artists in animation in LA. She also mentioned that we can also be a part of the community before we are “in the community.” We can do this as students by posting on social media, talking to the artists we look up to and supporting them, and by supporting our classmates.
Thank you Jackie for sharing information about the IATSE and The Animation Guild! It was very informative and great to keep in mind as we find ourselves transitioning from student roles into professional ones working in the industry and more!
It was an excellent opportunity to have Jackie Huang give us an informative presentation of IATSE. I like to be prepared and plan ahead. Having more comprehensive information and an idea of the big picture in the animation industry certainly can be more helpful to us before we walk into the industry. Pursuing our own successful career goals and realizing our life values is undoubtedly essential. But how to keep our health and rights of working should also be valued by us. And I believe a horrible working environment cannot sustainably produce great works.
ReplyDeleteThank Jackie, for sharing valuable information about the IATSE.
Naicheng Liu
Delaney McCallum (jmccallu@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteThis session with Jackie was very informative and helpful. I admit I've been a little clueless about the current IATSE proceedings, and it was important for me to learn how we as animators fit into that. I feel more prepared now to enter the industry, although some of the structure of it worries me. I have a feeling that my kind of work is going to be in non-union studios, and the goal of a union studio feels kind of like a golden, unreachable thing? I was also happy to hear about Studio Day here at USC, because that will be a good opportunity to actually ask about the reality of working at these places. I've never exactly dreamed of a studio job, but I see that it offers a lot more stability. It definitely gave me a lot to think about!
Tianyunl (tianyunl@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteIt was a very honored opportunity to have Jackie Huang to give us a mind-blowing presentation of IATSE. I really have no idea that we have a team like this to protect us and improve wages and conditions. Then give us more information about Animation Industry. But I do think it’s a little bit early for me to fully understand the benefits that IATSE could gave us. But it is important for us to get started to think about that. We are already graduate students we should think about our internship and the furture.
Today’s seminar light me on that working for an union studio can be more benefits, even for my family.
Jakie provided that a great information about IATSE that could help me to keep in mind as ourselves transitioning from students to industry workers. As soon as we into the society, we no longer protected by our school. So keep in mind about IATSE.
awang206
ReplyDeleteAnna Wang
Jackie gave us a very practically informative speech last Wednesday. I was able to finally get to know the animation union as well as its benefits. As an international student, I am very glad that I am also eligible to the coverage and that my family would also be protected under this plan. I also feel that I am included in this community, and that it is a collective effort to fight for our rights as animators. Her speech made me feel that the future is promising as an animator, and allowed me to plan my career with more insightful information. It was very nice of her to also give us advices on working in the industry. Overall, I am really appreciative of her coming in to prepare us for what coming after graduation.
Stefie Gan (stefiega@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteJackie gave us a good introduction to the Animation Guild. I think the guild is one of the positive things that happened from the Disney strike decades ago that led to desirable jobs for artists in LA. I wish Jackie had gone more into the history of how the Animation Guild was form and where she thinks unions are going. Since the heyday of labor unions, only few are left and many jobs are not unionized. The erosion of unions have left many workers in disadvantaged positions. While the federal government rules it unlawful to fire any employee for wanting/forming a union, employers can find creative ways to fire employees based on other aspects.
Jackie mentioned Amazon has been firing their employees for wanting to unionize. Perhaps there's a class action lawsuit in the making if they're consistently firing workers on the basis of unionizing. As we saw on the last California vote for contract workers from Uber, Lyft, Instacart, etc, to be given full time jobs and health benefits, many of these companies lobbied against it, and spent over $200+ million campaigning against proposition 22. They ended up getting the decision they want and it's business as usual.
Gone are the days of steady full time work. Many people live in the "gig" economy, even artists, who jump from job to job or freelance projects. This type of hustling makes us workers more insecure without retirement benefits and sponsored healthcare. The strength of labor unions is highly correlated to the growth of the middle class, which help societies thrive. I hope to see labor unions rise up once again to bring power back to the bottom line.
cxxu@usc.edu
ReplyDeleteCharlene Xu
Thanks to Jackie for the informative presentation on animation union (TAG)! In fact I have never heard about TAG or their benefits, and it is super nice that they can provide coverage for the artist's family as well. It is hard to work as an independent artist, so the union is helpful when you want to work for studios. I was always very impressed by how much USC does to prepare us for industry career, like the Studio Day and other networking opportunities. Thank you Sheila for inviting guests of all sorts of backgrounds to give us a better sense of everything we need to know in order to do what we want.
Clara Chou
ReplyDeleteyuncheng@usc.edu
I love this session so much as Jackie talked about the reality of the animation industry. As an international student who is about to graduate next year, I have started to get anxious about graduation and job hunting. I appreciate this opportunity to get to know more about The Animation Guild. The Animation Guild really provides us opportunities to connect with each other and be a part of the animation community which is awesome. I am really sad that there are some artists who are not a part of the union, such as stop-motion animators, and people even got fired because of this. I hope one day, all studios will face the importance of artists joining unions and become better workplaces for all of us. It is very informative and I learned so much from this class. Thank you, Jackie!
ReplyDeleteThank you for inviting Jackie this week and she giving us very useful information. We know that the unions provides access to talented directors from different backgrounds as part of the animation community, and also provides health insurance. Before this, Until now, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a union that provided these protections, I think health is really important for us, because animators often sit painting, would drawing all day, we often feel headache, back pain and A series of workplace illnesses, and the health plan is covering family, it makes me very surprise. Although we still have some time to go to work, the school provides us with a lot of useful information so that we can plan our future in advance.
shiqihu(shiqihu@usc.edu)
Jackie Huang gave a really in-depth talk on the Animation Guild last week. I had heard of TAG before then, but I didn’t really know anything about it, so it was nice to hear about it from someone who’s directly involved. I hope more industries will end up unionizing soon, like CG and visual effects, but if not, I’m afraid I won’t be able to benefit from any kind of union any time soon. With companies like Pixar still fighting unions tooth and nail, it’s not looking great for now, but I still have hope!
ReplyDelete-Jackson Roberts (jpr02403@usc.edu)
Well, I learned some stuff and learning is never bad! My questions were more along the lines of how does this information apply to me. I need to graduate, jump through bureaucratic hoops to just be able to stay in the country after graduation, then find a studio affiliated with the guild, then hopefully get a job there and then after 6 months all of this maybe is useful for me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this will make sense to me in the near future, maybe it will end up becoming a conversation I once had.
Hi Gunjan- In the meantime you can also take advantage of the resources the Guild provides: https://animationguild.org/how-to-get-started-in-animation/ and sign up for their newsletter for job opportunities, etc.
DeleteGina Gonsalves- ggonsalv@usc.edu
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear from Jackie, her visit was so informative an helpful. Many of us do not know much about TAG and these things will really affect us in the future. I appreciate her honesty and willingness to help and offer advice to get the best job and benefits possible. I appreciate her taking the time to explain how the industry works, what is going on right now, and how to advocate for ourselves in the future. She was such a great help and so friendly, it really helps when we feel informed knowing what we will be going into after receiving our degrees. Thank you Jackie!
Jackie Huang’s presentation was really eye opening because I didn’t know anything about the Animation Guild or much about unions in general. It does seem like kind of a touchy subject of employees versus company at times, since she did mention that union can never be spoken about during work hours, etc. However, if unionization is implemented well it really is in place to protect employees; and a company that takes good care of the people who work for them is sure to be a coveted and successful one. I think this kind of protection is really important for the arts since the hiring process and workflow is so different from other industries. For example, at an engineering company projects are given and paid hourly and typically with benefits, overtime is paid, and it is completely normal to come and leave at designated times whether or not work is complete that day. Of course those who go the extra mile can get rewarded, but it seems like in film/television that working a lot and on a condensed schedule is the norm. Your work is so intertwined with everyone else that being on schedule with completion and consistently pushing yourself is the standard. When it’s crunch time and things are being released soon, it’s not unusual for the entire team to get overworked or overtime to be limited/not paid because the project has a strict budget. The union is really great in that way, since it doesn’t allow the talent who are the crux of the studio to be treated inhumanely. Although I’m sure it’s stressful to the owners, companies who make an effort to support their employees more than just salary always ensures a better quality of life for the staff and in turn increases their dedication to the company. The animation guild works hard to ensure companies dedicate themselves to this ideology and maintain it.
ReplyDelete-Nina Ceklic
It was great to have Jackie Huang speak with us about the benefits of of working at a unionized studio and being a part of The Animation Guild. I had no prior knowledge of the privileges and opportunities available to animators in unionized studios. I have always thought of the Guild as an elusive entity of sorts. The animation video which was created to explain the The Animation Guild was a really helpful information tool. I thought it explained The Guild in a really approachable way. I was surprised by how many benefits you can claim as an animator working at a unionized studio. It was also interesting to know that there are social events and classes which are sponsored by The Guild, to help us develop our skills and network with one another. I wish that the process of unionizing studios did not have to be so secretive, and that their advantages could be discussed more openly. Jackie’s presentation made The Animation Guild feel like a fun group of friendly people. I am happy we got the opportunity to hear about The Animation Guild from Jackie, firsthand.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Cruell (cruell@usc.edu)
Thank you Jackie for bringing us this information about the union. This information is closely related to animators‘ career development. The protection of rights and interests they offer is so important. Many of my classmates and I have always focused on the animation itself, and paid less attention to these union-related issues. I am very sorry to hear that stop motion and many game-related companies are not in the alliance of The Animation Guild. Jackie also mentioned the issue of international employees. It's good to know that The Animation Guild will also protect international employees. Hope to see them on this year's studio day. The portfolio advice that the artist from The Animation Guild gave me on Studio Day last year was very helpful.
ReplyDeleteShengluo Zhang
shengluo@usc.edu
It is really nice to hear Jackie Huang's deep talk about The Animation Guild (TAG). I have never heard this before but it is really exciting to know its existence. Because I always found how animators working so hard on movies but get paid not very reasonable, TAG is just a perfect existence to make more and more animators to live and work in a much better condition. And Jackie’s detailed information about TAG just makes us much easier to join it after we graduate. I think this is really important for animators to unionize, because animators are mostly ingoing and just not fight enough for themselves. However, with more and more concentration on protecting their own profits, I do believe the industry will treat animators more nicely in the future. As a student, the warm environment of school may just protect us so well that we may be get into a lot of trouble when we are out, I think knowing more about TAG and similar organizations just help us calm down the anxious being exposed to the society.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, I really appreciate how the members in this union have worked so hard to earn more profits and try to create a better working condition for animators. I think it is really hard to fight agains all the unequal, and thanks them a lot to give us animator students to have better starting place when we graduate.
Siqi Fu
siqifu@usc.edu
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to listen to Jackie’s presentation. The fact is, before the speech, I was always considering myself too early to think about getting the information that will help me in the future when I get a job. But I found that knowing what kind of supports the guild can provide us beforehand actually help me clear my mind and makes me more confident to prepare for myself for now. Wish to see that all animation workers from all fields will have the chance to form positive relationships between the employers and the employees with the bridge of guild in the future.
ReplyDeleteLydia Su
lrsu@usc.edu
Tyler Krantz, tkrantz@usc.edu
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear from Jackie, I appreciate the information she presented about the Animation Guild and the benefits of joining. I knew a bit about the union’s history after the 1941 Disney strike, but it’s wonderful to hear how much they advocate for their members in the industry today.
It was interesting to hear about the social/community aspect of IATSE. I had thought about the advocacy and job benefits of joining the Guild, but hadn’t considered the networking and social potential. As we transition from students to young professionals, the Animation Guild seems like it will be a wonderful resource if we end up going the studio route, as I would like to pursue.
Thank you Jackie for sharing with us!
Listening to Jackie speak was super informative. Not to mention that it's great learning about all the benefits and protections that being a part of the animation industry has to offer. Particularly access to the motion picture healthcare program which sounds like a great plan to have healthcare wise. Especially, with access to a chiropractor! It's a bummer that the stop-motion industry isn't covered by the animation guild but luckily Jackie laid out the steps about how to start a labor revolution (joining the union) in the future. It also sounds like the animation guild is super supportive when it comes to supporting animators who want their studio to unionize. Also it is great knowing there is a way to connect with other animators in the animation industry.
ReplyDelete-Armando
Jackie Huangs presentation was informative on many aspects but most importantly the Animation Guild. I had no idea of an animation Guild. My plan was to pay into my own healthcare and benefits plan using the money I made for clients. With the way the current Economy is going Im not to sure that benefits and healthcare will be offered in the future in many places but that seems to be the current tradeoff. Get paid big bucks and do with the money what you like or get paid decent but with benefits.
ReplyDeleteA union can be beneficial but many studios or work places do not support the idea of a union thus the subject itself is a double edge sword. The goal of the Animation Guild is a noble one I completely understand it . Although I don’t know my future or where im going but I can say this; speaking from experience at times there is a deadline , the project needs to be completed but the compensation for the extra hard work and overtime is rarely if ever payed-out. There is an ongoing cycle of exploration that happens in film/tv as a result of this. At this point Ive been exploited enough to write thing down a paper and make contracts and if the client does not agree they can go to someone else.
I don’t know what my future is or what path I will take. For the time being Ive been doing freelance and have learned on my own how to tell a client when enough is enough and if they want more work they need to pay up, as stated in contract. Thus through personal experience I’ve learned how to make sure I’m not exploited or overworked but this didn’t happen overnight. I had to experience it in order rot learn how to shut it down. It would have been great to learn about the Animation Guild when I was younger but at this point its all about the contracts and making sure you are covered in every aspect.
Pedro Chinchilla
(pedrochi@usc.edu)
Hi Pedro- I agree there is a history of exploiting workers, which is why the union is so important. You have more power fighting back as a group than an individual. I am glad you have learned how to protect yourself. That is very important, especially if you are freelancing.
DeleteParker Chatham (pchatham@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteJackie Huang gave a helpful and constructive discussion regarding the Animation Guild and how it can benefit artists looking to be part of a union. I believe it can never be too early in thinking about unions because it can hugely influence one's quality of life. One point that I found interesting was the fact that it is the major companies that are unionized. Smaller studios may not be unionized as it can be costly. Seeing Jackie's presentation, I appreciated TAG's supports for animation artists including benefits, sick days, and vacation days. I also learned one important fact: 15 weeks working at a unionized studio can allow one to apply to TAG. Thank you, Jackie!
Hi Parker- sometimes the union will negotiate different types of contracts for smaller studios. I know the Editor's Guild has a different contract for Titmouse and Wild Brain, so if the animator's strike their contracts won't be affected, so they will continue to work. TAG has their different collective bargaining agreements posted on their website: https://animationguild.org/contracts-wages/
DeleteLast week, Jackie Huang gave a well-rounded presentation on what The Animation Guild does for its members. It was interesting to hear more about what specific resources studios provide for artists part of the guild and why certain positions such as stop-motion animator are excluded in the organization. One information that I found illuminating was that the effort to unionize is a secret, covert operation. Many studios are extremely touchy about the topic of unionizing and found it to be a grave threat to their line of business. Therefore, I am very curious about how non-unionized studios view The Animation Guild as an organization. I heard a decent amount of horror stories of artists getting fired and black-listed for attempting to unionize even in cases where the artist does get a fair amount of support.The career journey in the industry can be a scary one so tread lightly.
ReplyDeleteJarrod Chatham
jchatham@usc.edu
Jessica Wu
ReplyDeletewujessic@usc.edu
Jackie's lecture was so informative and helpful. I knew about the guild from Studio Day. But I didn't know the resources and benefits it provides. So the information really helped me to visualize the future a little bit better. We as students often focus on getting a job but overlook the importance of being unionized as workers to ensure we get the benefits we deserve. I also really appreciate the fact her honesty about working in the industry. After the lecture, I definitely feel more prepared to go into the industry. I’m also relieved to know that there’s a union that has the artists’ back.
After Listening to Jackie's presentation, I knew a lot about the Animation Guild. The Animation Guild is an organization that focuses on guaranteeing the member's and employees' interests in regards to workplace conditions. It is great knowing that there is an organization out there that is looking out for our best interests so that artists can focus on making art. Furthermore, Jackie's presentation was super clear and informative so when the time comes to find work, I know that I won't have to worry about what is a fair wage and how to obtain health insurance. I was also surprised by how affordable it is to join the animation union and how flexible they are when it comes to having to pause the membership to the union. All in all, it was great hearing from an alumni who is looking out for the future animators. Thank you Jackie and thank you Sheila for inviting Jackie to speak to us about the importance and benefits of the union.
ReplyDeleteRui Han (ruihan@usc.edu)
It was very useful to have Jackie Haung come talk to us about the Animation Guild. I did not know what a Union is, and specifically the animation guild and how it works until Jackie talked to us about it! I found it really beneficial to learn that the Union is there to represent animators or Visual effects artists to negotiate minimum wages, working conditions, and to provide pension plan and health benefits for the artists and their families. I also was really glad to learn that the Animation guild is open to international animators and not only limited to U.S. citizens. Thank you for inviting her and looking forward to meeting our next guest this week.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Dina
Thanks Jackie for sharing about the Animation Guild. I have heard a little before about unionize but never understood it clearly. With knowing so many benefits, I think it would be great if all animators can be covered by TAG. Although I imagine it must be uneasy for small studios to unionize. And how the owners and companies will be affected. I think it is uneasy for TAG to set up all the rules in order to benefit workers but not intervene the companies' operations. I really hope there's a similar organization in my home country as well in the future.
ReplyDeleteXiaoqian Zhu (xiaoqiaz@usc.edu)
DeleteJackie’s talk introducing the Animation Guild is a talk that I didn’t know I needed. She talked about the more realistic side of the business, telling us a way to ensure our rights and benefits in a job. I came from a different field and did not know about TAG, and it was nice to learn all kinds of information about the extent of what TAG can do and how to join TAG. With animation being the competitive and intense industry as it is, a lot of the times we may feel like we have to overwork and exhaust ourselves, but learning that TAG can ensure our rights as animators is very reassuring.
ReplyDeleteRuoyu Chen(chenruoy@usc.edu)
It was a pleasure to have Jackie Huang this week in seminar and I’m grateful for all the information she shared about the Animation Guild. In my experience unions are often talked about very little before you actually enter the workforce and I was not clear on how Animation Guild and Union operated before now. I had no idea about the benefits of TAG and all that was going on in the industry and I'm glad that Jackie could shed some light on these topics. I also appreciated the career advice that Jackie gave for students entering the workforce and how it retains a lot of mobility. The whole session was really informative! They were all things I wondered about and after our talk I took away a lot of good info!
ReplyDeleteKaisey
Jiamu Tao
ReplyDeleteJackie’s talk about the LA union is helpful. Coming from my previous study experience in New York, not being able to be part of the union has been brought up in several occasions. Jackie introduced us to a lot of advantage and care that the union provides us with and it’s very reassuring going into the business. It also enables us to equip ourselves with the knowledge when the time comes for us to bargain for a job position.
Vicky (Shunyi) Xie (shunyixi@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteBefore I went to USC I already have a very rough idea about the animation guild and the union. It is a good chance to know more about the benefit of joining the union. I am happy to informed that some people in the industry cares about the workers in the industry and making sure they are having basic rights for example having health insurance.
I am sure everyone is happy to join the guild, but we all know the important part is not if people willing to join or not, it’s about if people will get hired by the union company. It is extremely, extremely hard and competitive to be hired by union, especially full time. Many artists who worked for union as freelancer still not able to have health insurance and stable life because they don’t have enough working hour.
Overall it’s a good thing happened in the industry and I am looking forward to see how the guild develop in the future.
Hi Vicky- I agree it can be hard. My husband worked in the animation industry for 20 years before he finally got a union job (at Cartoon Network.) I hope more studios become unionized in the future.
DeleteIt is honored to have Jackie Huang as our speaker this week, her presentation on IATSE is very informative and helpful. She told us what benefits and protections IATSE could give us. Those various benefits covers us as animation workers and even covers our families. In the past, I’ve never think of and never realize the importance of gaining and keeping rights as animators. But after listening to Jackie’s words about the guild I felt more insightful and optimistic about the future as an animation worker, our hard working deserves those treatments. I really appreciate Jackie of sharing those valuable information with us.
ReplyDeleteJiayi Tang
Tangjiay@usc.edu
It was so nice to be informed about all of the facets of the Animation guild! I found Jackie’s presentation to be rather informational andisnightful and truly appreciated her taking the timeto enhgtenuse on such a big part of the industry. It felt like we were giving the insiders scoop on how to navigate the Union and profit from all of the benefits they can offer those in the animation industry. Although it may be a bit soon to fully dive into the ins and outs of the union, because many of us are prioritizing breaching the industry, it's never too soon to be made aware and I still found the information very insightful and helpful! I also loved Jackie's UPA style animation that was shown at the beginning of the seminar. It was very nicely stylized and very charming as well. Huge thank you to Jackie fortakingthe time to talk about TAG and IATSE!
ReplyDeleteAdriel Meka
ameka@usc.edu
Shon Xiao
ReplyDeleteJackie Huang’s talk about animation unions, specifically the Animation Guild within the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), provided me with a lot of information that I believe I will utilize in the future. I cannot say that the talk was eye opening like many of the previous talks, but it was extremely practical and important to all of our future careers. I am grateful to have had such a speaker come in to remind us of our worker rights, else I would have entered the workforce with little to no knowledge of unions and would be much more vulnerable to being exploited. I was very surprised and frustrated when Jackie mentioned that employees can tell one company that another company is offering more, and the first company will typically offer to raise their pay. The realization that companies will try to pay employees as little as possible despite being able to afford higher wages greatly angers me. I am grateful that the unions have begun to place pressure on companies to treat employees better, and I hope that there is only uphill progress from here.
I am very interested in the general opinion on animation unions as compared to game development unions. Similar to animation, the games industry only recently began forming unions to protect the workers’ working conditions. Therefore, within the games industry, it can be risky for employees to join unions. I am curious as to whether or not animators also have to keep their union associations hush hush. I regret not asking this during the talk.
Jackie Huang's talk about The Animation Guild (TAG) was very informative and helpful for our future! It is never too early to start caring about our future career in the animation industry, but we seldom have the opportunity to really think about the reality side - salaries, benefits, resources... they seem to be "adult things" sometimes, but actually, they are not that far-way from now, and it's better to have good understanding of the industry standards, work stability and a picture of our future job. It is also interested to see Jackie took a different path than most of out guests did, which made me realized that animation industry has so much aspects and potentials, we can all take different paths and still be passionate about what we all love about. And I am really glad we still have such a community that protect the rights for animators and provide helpful resources when we need them. I hope TAG continually grows bigger, and one day they would have the power to interfere with all the exploitation, injustice and discrimination in the industry.
ReplyDeleteSydney Chen
Deletepinghsin@usc.edu
It was very informative to have Jackie Huang’s as our guest speaker last week and to hear about the Animation Guild within the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). I had no whatsoever idea about this sort of guild and to be honest, still am a bit clueless. Maybe because it was such legal and official(?) terms said in a foreign language. But it's never too late to know! It was very helpful to know that there even is such a system and that it also is in effect for international workers and our family too. And for now, I could use the resource that is provided on the guild's website. But sadly, I heard that many big companies, such as Pixar, are still fighting with the unions to not increase the artist's minimum wage (which I just found out and is very disappointing!). Artists being taken advantage of is not a new story. In Korea, we even have a word for this kind of situation, although not exclusive to the art/film/animation industry, called "Passion-Pay"; meaning corps exploiting the workers(especially those who are trying to get their foot in the door) by gaslighting them with the pretense that they should be grateful to even get the chance opportunity to work on their "dream jobs" and so their "passions" being fulfilled is part of the payment, thus, ending up giving them ridiculous money. Money, power, and greed numbing humanity and resulting in humans exploiting against other humans have been the case ever since humankind. Here, Korea and many other places are still struggling for minimal things such as 'minimum wages". But I am glad that at least here, it is more outspoken. I hope that people will stop being money pigs and remember at the end of the day, they are also humans that were able to be where they are now thanks to other humans.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the seminar Jackie! Together, let's fight on!
DeleteAloha Lee (haekyung@usc.edu)
Jackie Huang brought in a very speech today about The Animation Guild (TAG). It was definitely very informative and even necessary for us getting into the industry. I've some experience of working overtime in my previous non-union positions. Back then I had no idea what to do to solve and it made me feel helpless. I'm grateful of the pressure the union has put on the studios to stop artists from being taken advantage of. But it was sad to know that Pixar refused to work with union to agree on the minimal wages. I hope in the future we could create a fair working environment for everyone.
ReplyDeleteChenxue Lu
chenxuel@usc.edu