Big news in the animation world! Workers at DreamWorks Animation just made history by ratifying their first-ever collective bargaining agreement with The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild.
The new agreement brings major wins: guaranteed wage minimums, zero-dollar individual healthcare premiums, retirement contributions, and extra pay for extended work. At the same time, remote artists across the U.S. have officially petitioned to unionize, pushing for the same protections and benefits as their in-studio peers.
This is a huge milestone not just for DreamWorks, but for the animation industry as a whole — showing the growing power of artists, editors, and production teams coming together to secure fair treatment and sustainable careers.
What are your thoughts on how this shift might impact the wider industry?
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2025/09/dreamworks-animation-workers-a...
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That's incredible for the Animation industry, Cyrus Sales! I hope remote artists across the U.S. get the same protections and benefits, and I hope this agreement impacts pay and benefits positively for people in the industry worldwide!
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Let's take a read. Thanks for sharing @cyrus
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This is a good arrangement. I hope it doesn't impact hiring and number of productions.
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Just to clarify, artists were already unionized. This is for the production workers. Remote workers in all categories are unionizing. Still great news!
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Cyrus Sales This really is a landmark moment for the industry. The protections and benefits in this agreement don’t just help current DreamWorks employees, they set a precedent that other studios will have to acknowledge for their production workers. The push from remote artists is especially significant, since so much of the animation workforce is no longer centralized in L.A. or big studio hubs.
If these standards ripple outward, it could lead to stronger bargaining positions across the industry, which may help address long-standing issues like wage disparity, burnout, and project-to-project instability.
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Maurice Vaughan 5 I look forward to seeing how this impact remote artist across the US. Kevin Jackson I honestly didn't think about that, we will see though. Bob Harper I'm still on the "newer," side of learning about the union and how it works so I appreciate the clarification. Anyone here have experience with unions?
Ashley Renee Smith I appreciate the insight on how this will impact the industry. I do hope it is the start of a bigger movement and other studios follow suite. I know the animation industry can be a bit challenging to navigate but I do feel like this is a great start with protection and benefits.
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Cyrus Sales I have experience with The Animation Guild