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WGA and IATSE Butting Heads

Union Turns on Writer's Guild Over Strike Rules Involving Animation

Oct 16, 2007

The upcoming Writer's Guild strike is gonna be nasty. But WGA's insistence that current and future members can't work on animated films has other unions steamed.

Unions usually stick together. It's all about the hard-working stiffs siding with each other against the capitalist robber barons. That's the way unionism works.

So why are both the Animation Guild and IATSE ripping into the Writer's Guild of America? It's because the WGA has forbidden any current and future members from working on animated films during the strike.

According to strike rules, WGA members can't do any guild-covered work in features and TV. However, a draft recap of the rules said the guild also wants to prohibit any writing for new media, which includes Internet and cell phones.

WGA Prohibits Writing for Animated Films

Guild members are also prohibited from working on animated features – even though animation is not under WGA jurisdiction. Along with the usual penalties for writers violating union rules, such as censure, fines, and even expulsion, the WGA said that non-members who violate this directive during the strike won't be allowed to join the guild in the future.

"Writers are advised to consult with staff at the guild's strike headquarters to determine the extent to which animation writing is permitted or prohibited before performing any services in order to avoid possible disciplinary action," said the WGA regulations, posted on the guild website. "Members should assume that projects combining live action and animation and live action-based processes, such as motion capture, are covered by this rule."

IATSE President Calls WGA "House of Hate"

Steve Hulett, the business rep for Animation Guild Local 839, took the high road, telling Variety, "Any union can discipline their members for violations of internal rules and policy. But I can't imagine our union attempting to prevent someone from joining and working for another union. So good luck to them."

Thomas Short, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, didn't bother being diplomatic.

"I consider it outrageous for the WGAW to consider violating trade union principles by taking action against individuals performing services under the jurisdiction of another union," he said in a statement. The Animation Guild is part of IATSE.

in an open letter to WGA West president Patric Verrone, Short announced, "If the WGAW follows through with the threat, the IATSE is prepared to take legal action against the individuals and institutions involved"

Short's called the writers union as "the house of hate commonly known as the Writers Guild of America West."

WGA's Verrone: "Honour Picket Lines"

Verrone was unrepentant, saying, "Members of the Writers Guild write the overwhelming majority of animated feature films. We will not allow the employers to take advantage of our writers to produce this work during a strike. Honoring picket lines is a fundamental trade union principle."

Keep in mind that the WGA can't approve this policy until the strike vote on October 18th, so this rule hasn't gone into effect yet. But talks between the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers has been rough, with both sides accusing the other of fudging facts to suit their agendas.

IATSE and the Writer's Guild have also had many turf wars over the years, with animated films being only one of the many areas where they've battled. This latest maneuver by the WGA to establish dominance over animated movies is unlikely to make relations between the two unions any warmer.

The copyright of the article WGA and IATSE Butting Heads in Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish WGA and IATSE Butting Heads in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.