The Animation Guild's chief negotiator says the union is “confident” it can reach a deal with studios and streamers as crucial negotiations continue that will determine how major studios will approach the use of artificial intelligence in the animation.
The union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have extended their employment contract through Dec. 2 as negotiations continue on a new agreement, the guild announced Wednesday. After the last talks on Monday and Tuesday, the groups have decided to return to the negotiating table starting from November 18th.
In a statement, union business representative and chief negotiator Steve Kaplan said his negotiating committee had worked “diligently” in recent days to “focus” studios and streamers on the best proposals. “Based on our recent discussions, we hope that the studios are willing to provide us with the necessary movement to reach an agreement, and we look forward to meeting with them again in November,” he said. AMPTP confirmed the contract extension on Wednesday.
The union said some of their top priorities – including restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, staffing minimums and job security – were discussed this week. The union has also sought to protect Los Angeles County studios' work from being outsourced to other countries and has prioritized craft-specific issues, such as increased wages for time managers, in the bargaining round this year.
Negotiations have taken place on and off since they began on August 12. In mid-August, the union and AMPTP added bargaining dates the following month, while in September, with the union citing “significant gaps” preventing an agreement, the parties added October and October negotiation dates. they have extended the contract until November 1st. The contract originally expired on July 31.
Although their chief negotiator struck an optimistic note in his statement, entertainment workers have stepped up pressure tactics as the discussions drag on. In late October, the union kicked off a planned series of demonstrations with a march on Netflix's offices in Burbank, where workers delivered a petition highlighting the levels of financial hardship and unemployment among their group. (Animation Guild members have reported more instances of AI experimentation at the streamer than at other signatory companies.) The union announced that more demonstrations will be staged before AMPTP member companies in the coming weeks.
Like other workers in the entertainment industry, animation workers are going through tough times amid the ongoing downturn in business. Over the summer, the union released an estimate that about a third of its members had been laid off in the last year alone.