Animation Guild Contract (2006-2009 Edition) Ratified

In early March, the Animation Guild negotiated its new three-year agreement with a dozen (more or less) animation studios.... And today, the American Arbitration Association counted up the ratification ballots that we sent out three weeks ago. The final tally: 94% in favor, 6% against. 27.8% of the eligible membership participated in the guild-wide vote -- 441 to 27, out of 1682 eligibles. (There were another 73 votes invalidated due to bad standing and/or an unmarked ballot. Unmarked ballot? Is it that hard to check YES or NO?) We spent a chunk of time prepping for these negotiations; then they came and went in a couple of winks. Swear to God, I was amazed we got as much as we did. (A 48.9% increase in benefits for freelance animation writers is pretty astounding in this day and age. The International reps who were there in the room aiding and abetting our efforts didn't think we'd pull it off. But we did.) Anyway, we don't have to go through the process again for three years. Praise be.