2023-09-10 16:53:48
Faced with increasingly rapid pace, the little-known engineers and artists who make superheroes fly and lightsabers shine are turning to unions to demand better working conditions.
Engineers and artists specializing in special effects are unionizing to demand better working conditions, as their activity intensifies. This trend, in the United States and Canada, began in 2022 in an independent studio and has gained momentum this year, as Hollywood screenwriters and actors are engaged in a historic strike, supported by their unions.
Because the demand for content is exploding, both from video game publishers and streaming platforms which are struggling to retain their subscribers and attract new ones. Special effects workers at Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have expressed interest in unionizing, according to organizations representing behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry.
Largely non-unionized profession
A group of Marvel employees could become the first team of its kind within a major studio to do so. The US federal labor law agency is scheduled to count their votes on Tuesday. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) sees the move as a major shift for a profession that has remained largely non-union since special effects took off. a new dimension with Star wars in the 1970s.
Special effects specialists at Walt Disney must vote in September whether to unionize or not. ” We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of solidarity that is breaking down old barriers in the industry and proving that we are all in this together.” said Matthew Loeb, IATSE International President. ” Entertainment workers everywhere are standing up for the rights of their colleagues, that’s what it’s all about“, he added.
“We need a meal break”
Competition between streaming titans Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney has driven up demand for films and series, almost all of which now require special effects, says IATSE’s Mark Patch. ” Without special effects, you wouldn’t have lightsabers, you wouldn’t have Avengers flying around“, he emphasizes. ” We love this job, but we need meal breaks and health coverage, and we need to be paid for overtime, etc.“, he explains.
It is common, he said, for workers in the special effects industry to work days of more than fifteen hours, even sleeping under their desks when they have to meet tight production deadlines. A speech that echoes that of employees of video game publishers.
According to IATSE International Representative Chrissy Fellmeth, their salaries and benefits have stagnated as this multi-billion dollar industry and the speed of game release has accelerated with the high demand for updates. And because titles are released too quickly, studio employees then have to scramble to correct software errors.
Organizing campaign
According to union activist Chrissy Fellmeth, video game developers generally stay for seven years before moving on to other technology sectors. ” They tend to leave for greener pastures“, she explains. ” Even though they love working in this field, it turns out it’s way too difficult“.
New York-based game studio Workinman Interactive, which counts Nintendo and Disney among its customers, began a union organizing campaign in August, according to IATSE. They would thus join a handful of video game studio unions, including the Game Workers Alliance Union, launched in early 2022 by quality assurance workers at Raven Software, owned by Activision Blizzard.
” I am very excited to see what the future holds for us now that we have the opportunity to make our voices heard and be respected as equals“, said Cori Mori, junior developer at Workinman, in a press release. According to Chrissy Fellmeth, this wave of unionization is notably linked to the limits imposed by more and more studios on teleworking, forcing employees to live close to offices in cities where living is expensive.
The current strike crippling Hollywood has also played a role, highlighting the power of workers if they unite. The writers launched their movement in May, followed by the actors in July. Their unions are demanding, among other things, better wages and guarantees that artificial intelligence will not steal their jobs and income.
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