SAG Board Approves Animation Contract - Three Cheers

The Screen Actors Guild Board approved a new animation contract on April 21, and the rest of us should rejoice... Any time the production process gets slowed, it slows jobs (and job creation) everywhere else. And bad things can happen therefrom. I'll give you a specific, mini example: A couple of years back, the voice actors on "The Simpsons" staged a de facto strike for higher wages. Fox had dug in its heels on big bump ups, and the actors stopped recording shows. There wasn't a SAG job action at the time, but the small, wild-cat version of one with "The Simpsons" resulted in longer layoffs than normal for the animation crew. (And members of "The Simpsons" staff were blocked from going to work on other Fox shows by a Fox exec. I'd tell you his name, but Mr. Raynis wouldn't like it.) Ultimately the dispute between the voice actors and Fox was resolved, and everyone -- including the animation artists -- went back to work. But the long mini strike was damaging to a lot of pocket books, so it's a good thing that the broader population of voice actors aren't poised to strike now. It wouldn't be healthy financially for animation artists.