Vancouver – Animation workers at WildBrain have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their collective agreement with IATSE Local 938, The Canadian Animation Guild. After over a year of bargaining, these workers will join their peers at Titmouse Vancouver who already have the benefits of representation through the IATSE. The over 300 workers at WildBrain will be able to not only retain the benefits and perks they already enjoy, but also build on that foundation to strengthen the Canadian animation industry as a whole.
The Collective Agreement that WildBrain workers ratified codifies many important aspects of their workplace, as well as adding a paid pregnancy leave top-up benefit, increasing worker’s pool of sick and flex days by 80%, and introducing AI protections that are on par with IATSE agreements across North America.
“This agreement is a testament to nearly 6 years of grassroots organizing. Not only have we secured material improvements for WildBrain workers, but we’ve also laid a strong foundation upon which we will build over the years.”said Eddy Pedreira, President of the Canadian Animation Guild, IATSE Local 938. “It has been an honour to work so closely with a group of workers who care so much about each other and their workplace, and their commitment has really shone through in this agreement.”
Based in British Columbia and formed in 2020, IATSE Local 938, The Canadian Animation Guild is Canada’s first animation union and represents workers in animation, VFX, and video games.
Harley Munsie, Senior Modeller at WildBrain said, “This has been such a long time coming. Workers at WildBrain worked hard to create this collective agreement and we are so proud of everything we managed to achieve together. It’s days like these I feel real proud to be in this ever-growing industry.”
The Canadian Animation Guild is also currently bargaining its first collective agreement for workers at ICON Animation Studio and is in the second round of bargaining at Titmouse Animation Vancouver. The Guild is also participating in and providing support for the bargaining at the VFX house DNEG.
“The success of this vote is a testament to what workers can achieve when they work together,” said Matthew D. Loeb, IATSE International President. “All animation, VFX and video game workers across Canada deserve strong union representation and the IATSE has a long history of doing just that. We encourage all workers to contact us so the gains made at WildBrain can be made across Canada.”
Workers who are interested in improving their working conditions are encouraged to contact IATSE International Representative Jiaming Li at jli@iatse.net.