DreamWorks Animation Workers Achieve Major Union Milestones
Skwigly
The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 (TAG), is proud to announce two significant milestones this week for DreamWorks Animation workers:
- The ratification of a first-ever union contract for Production Workers.
- The unionization of Remote Workers across the United States who contribute to LA-based projects.
An overwhelming majority of DreamWorks Production workers voted to ratify their first Collective Bargaining Agreement after nine months of negotiations. With a 92% participation rate, 96% voted to ratify the contract covered by TAG and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700.
The new contract brings long-overdue recognition and protections, with major wins that include:
- Established wage minimums for job classifications with yearly increases, including one of the most competitive Production Assistant rates in the industry.
- Substantial reduction in healthcare costs — annual individual premiums will be zero dollars.
- Guaranteed retirement contributions.
- Additional 6th and 7th day pay for salaried and on-call employees.
At the same time, DreamWorks remote employees living throughout the U.S. and working on LA-based animation projects have formally declared their intent to unionize with TAG. On September 22, 2025, the unit submitted a request for voluntary recognition to the studio, and on September 23, TAG filed for an NLRB election covering 75 artists and animation workers across both Feature and TV.
This new remote bargaining unit includes job titles currently represented by TAG in the Master Agreement, including: Character Effects Artist, Animator, Technical Director, Lighter, Visual Development Artist, Modeler, Production Coordinator, Production Supervisor, and more.
“While it is a tremendous privilege to be able to work remotely in the industry I love and alongside people I love, it is unfair to be treated as a second-class employee,” says Anthony Holden, an Oregon-based Story Artist who has worked at DreamWorks for seven years. “Those of us who work remotely do not enjoy the same health care, retirement planning, or other benefits afforded to our co-workers in LA County who are covered under collective bargaining agreements. For the sake of my own family, and for the sake of any employee—current or future—who might choose to move their family to the place that is right for them, I have chosen to stand with the remote employees of DreamWorks to ask for what is rightfully ours— to be given the same treatment and benefits as our counterparts who work in-studio.”