Special Meeting, May 30

On Tuesday night, the Animation Guild's Executive Board, still angry about the state of the latest round of negotiations for a new contract, put out an e-mail to membership which goes something like this:

On April 19, after two days of negotiations for a new contract with the major studios, your negotiating team (made up of regular members just like you) felt compelled to walk out.

The studios were not willing to consider most of our proposals, and we were far apart on wage issues.

Animated features and television series are the engine that drives the Hollywood gravy train, yet our workplace and salary concerns were mostly ignored.

TAG's Executive Board has voted to hold a special membership meeting on Wednesday, May 30, to discuss the contract negotiations. It is imperative that we have a full turnout to receive your input regarding our next moves in the battle for a fair contract.

In the meantime, we urge you to discuss these issues with your fellow members. Your livelihood, and that of your fellow workers in animation, is at stake. We have been disrespected for far too long. Do you want our Union to stand up for itself? Then YOU need to stand up for your Union. Attend the special meeting.

The special membership meeting will be held Wednesday, May 30, at the Guild's offices at 1105 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank. A reception starts at 6 PM with beer, wine, and refreshments, followed by the meeting at 7 PM. ...

Speaking for myself, I found the overall package offered by the producers on April 18 amazing ... and insulting. We had worked through some side issues, and I had thought we were making some progress.

Wrongo.

This, I guess, shouldn't be hugely surprising. Sitting through the Basic Agreement negotiations, I had an opportunity to talk to various locals, and none of them had an easy time of it in their individual negotiations. The IATSE leadership didn't have an easy time of it hammering out an agreement for the larger contract. So we should have expected lollipops and rainbows? Still, the TAG negotiations were a large splash of chilled water.

In the relatively near future, we will be going back for more contract talks. Any members reading this, I urge you to come to the meeting on May 30th. It's important for you to know what's going on and to give your input.