This Monday, a statement from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) reported that visual effects artists from Marvel Studios are seeking to be represented by this North American union, which shelters thousands of technicians and craftsmen from the entertainment industry. It is emphasized that “a ‘supermajority’ of Marvel’s 50+ staff” signed the appropriate authorization cards in order to express their wishes that IATSE represent them.
According VarietyThis is the first attempt at unionization by visual effects professionals in Hollywood. The IATSE gathers within its members production designers, camera operators, editors, makeup artists, costume artists, script supervisors, lighting and prop people, etc., but historically it has left VFX specialists aside.
“For nearly half a century, workers in the visual effects industry have been denied the same protections and benefits that their co-workers have enjoyed since the inception of the Hollywood film industry,” he said in a statement. Mark Patch, visual effects organizer for IATSE. “This is a historic first step for visual effects workers to come together in a collective voice demanding respect for what we do.”
For his part, bella huffmannvisual effects coordinator, emphasized that, due to the lack of an agency that watches over their rights, these artists have lacked, for example, protected hours, realistic delivery dates and pay equity.
“Visual effects must become a sustainable and safe department for everyone who has suffered for too long and for all newcomers who need to know they won’t be exploited,” he added.
Months ago, Marvel Studios was accused of overexploiting visual effects artists, creating appalling working conditions, and even intimidating and blacklisting employees who didn’t meet its inhumane demands. This appalling treatment of workers was allegedly responsible for the poor CGI seen in various film and television productions of Phase 4 and 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
You might also be interested in: Artists blame Marvel for poor Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania visual effects
The demand for unionization that visual effects specialists are now raising emerges in a propitious context. For months, the Writers Guild in Hollywood has been holding a strike that has paralyzed the industry. And in mid-July, the actors’ union also went into a strike, with a view to allowing the major studios and streaming platforms to streaming agree to give living wages and establish the regulations pertinent to the issue of residuals and artificial intelligence.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of solidarity that is breaking down old barriers in the sector and showing that we are all in this fight together. This does not happen in a vacuum,” commented IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb. “All entertainment workers are standing up for their rights and that is what our movement is about. I congratulate these workers for taking this important step and using their collective voice.”
According to the original report of vulturethe visual effects teams that requested unionization also request that the corresponding election —the one that defines their integration into IATSE— take place on August 21.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.