VANCOUVER, BC– Animation workers at Vancouver’s ICON Creative Studio, known for such animated productions as Monsters at Work, Ariel, Charlie the Wonderdog, and The Search for Wondla, are rallying to secure union representation with IATSE Local 938, The Canadian Animation Guild.
Workers at ICON, one of Vancouver’s largest animation studios, are signing support cards to secure better pay and working conditions, and to get more of a say at their workplace. They will join their peers from WildBrain, Titmouse, and Kickstart Entertainment as members of Canada’s only dedicated animation union. Already, hundreds of ICON workers have signed cards in support of forming a union at the studio.
Key factors driving the unionization effort include the need for layoff protections, pay transparency, and protections against AI and outsourcing, as well as assistance with immigration processes. Vancouver’s animation industry employs large numbers of international visa workers, almost all of whom are eligible to join the union, and have much to gain from the added security and stability of union membership.
“When I first began organizing for our union, I was a junior animator in Vancouver on a work permit. I was stuck between complicated immigration forms, short contracts, and high rents. I realized that, in all of this, nobody really had my back, said CAG Local 938 Secretary Eddy Pedreira. “Organizing this union has made all the difference. My union empowered me and allowed me to focus on what really matters: building a life for myself in the country that I chose. To the workers of ICON making this decision today – the choice is yours, and yours alone. We’ve got your back.”
ICON workers should visit www.iconunited.ca for more information and to request a union support card. Support cards are 100% confidential and employers never find out who has signed a card.
Animation workers who have questions about forming a union at their workplace should contact IATSE International Representatives Ming Li (jli@iatse.net) and Will Gladman (wgladman@iatse.net).
The IATSE is the largest union in the entertainment industry, representing behind-the-scenes workers across film, television, live performance, animation, VFX and tradeshow. From cinematographers to costume designers, or riggers to ushers, our members are the people who make sure the show goes on.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
International Representative Krista Hurdon at khurdon@iatse.net