Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1485933
AS WE NEAR THE END OF THE YEAR, SO COMES THE END OF MY FIRST TERM AS PRESIDENT. MY WHOLE CAREER HAS BEEN A SERIES OF MANEUVERS AROUND UNEXPECTED ROADBLOCKS AND INTO SURPRISE OPPORTUNITIES. THAT NIMBLENESS HAS PROVEN BENEFICIAL FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS WHEN THE PLANS THAT I'D HAD FOR MY FIRST TERM WERE PUT ON HOLD AS THE PANDEMIC CHANGED OUR WORLD. I had hoped my term would be one of building community in the animation industry through social opportunities and activism in person. Instead, we had to figure out ways to reach our members to offer support and connection at a time when we all isolated. The entire animation industry pivoted immediately to remote work, and our Union had to match those new dance steps. The Guild office was shut, staff sent home, and we had to figure out how to keep serving our members who continued working while the rest of the entertainment industry was shuttered. We hired more staff to keep up with our growing membership as "The Great Content War" between streamers raged on. They ordered more animated projects than ever and hired artists and production staff beyond the Los Angeles labor pool. Our members worked alongside crewmates who were not covered by our Union protections, and noticed they weren't being treated fairly. The Guild responded by taking a more active role in organizing outside of L.A. County in hopes of making it possible to cover all animation workers. Our new organizer, Ben Speight, worked with a passionate group of animation workers in New York to organize the first studio outside of L.A. County in 40 years, making TAG an official national union! He guided engaged production workers at seven different studios and productions in L.A. to demand the same treatment as their Union colleagues, expanding our ranks further. This is a historic time for our Union. The world is starting to open back up. "The Great Content War" is slowing down. There are mergers and restructuring happening at some studios causing a contraction in the industry. Shows are being canceled; pilots being shelved. Now we are all having to pivot again. These times can be scary when your career is built on jumping from one project to another, but I'm optimistic. Animation is resilient. This is the normal ebb and flow of business as the ways we consume our media evolves. And we at The Guild are ready to maneuver through these changes. I will be starting my second term as President at the end of 2022, and I have high hopes for the strength of our Union and the community we've built together. It has been an honor to serve our members, and I am looking forward to my upcoming term with hopefully way more in-person events. I miss seeing your faces! In Solidarity, Jeanette Moreno King | President The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 WE ADAPT TO OUR CHANGING INDUSTRY ON THE COVER Puss in Boots and Strange World are among the Oscar-eligible movies we cover in this issue. L E T T E R