The Animation Guild has organized another set of animation production workers, this time at Bento Box Entertainment.
A group of unionizing production workers at the Bob’s Burgers and Central Park studio was voluntarily recognized after a third-party arbitrator completed a card check on Sept. 30, a Guild representative told The Hollywood Reporter. The bargaining unit of 100 workers includes those in audio coordinator, development and design supervisor, digital supervisor, writers assistant and production coordinator roles, among others.
The Animation Guild first announced the news on Monday in a tweet. “Production workers @BentoBoxEnt are now officially represented by the #AnimationGuild. Let’s show them a big welcome to the #Union! Congrats!,” the tweet read.
A representative for Bento Box Entertainment said the company had no comment.
The news arrives just months after 15 editorial employees in pre- and postproduction at Bento Box Entertainment unionized with The Editors Guild, also after an arbitrator certified employee support for the union via a card check. Prior to their unionization effort with production workers, The Animation Guild already represented animation artists and writers at the company.
The Animation Guild has made a targeted push to organize production staff at animation workplaces since January, racking up successes so far at Titmouse’s New York and L.A. offices and ShadowMachine as well as the shows Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad! Responsible for moving material and coordinating communication between departments on animation projects, production workers until 2022 were largely not unionized on major projects. Now, in a bid to improve their leverage within the industry and at individual workplaces, The Animation Guild is looking to change that.
“The only way we’re able to make meaningful and lasting and important change in the animation industry is if we can speak to the voice of everyone who works in animation,” TAG business representative Steve Kaplan, who was recently re-elected at the Guild, told THR in June.
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