VFX Working Conditions Need to Change, but Current Unionization Option May Not Be the Answer
Something’s gotta give. In a survey of VFX workers conducted by IATSE and published in March 2023, a whopping 68% of respondents said they did not believe VFX was sustainable as a long-term career.
With issues ranging from benefits to working conditions, that perception doesn’t appear to have changed much since then, which is why amid the recent work to create and ratify new contracts for entertainment workers, IATSE has simultaneously aimed to organize the largely non-union VFX community.
But history suggests the labor-union structure that supports entertainment workers such as cinematographers and makeup artists may not achieve the desired result for VFX practitioners, even though during the past year roughly 200 VFX workers at various studios and companies have voted to unionize under IATSE, including roughly 50 in-house VFX workers at Marvel Studios and 13 in-house VFX employees at Walt Disney Pictures.
There are distinctions. Many of the workers covered by the Basic Agreement are effectively freelancers, while many VFX workers can be employed by studios or, more often, third-party VFX vendors such as DNEG. (A few exceptions include VFX editors, who are members of Local 700, the Editors Guild.)
Further, much of the actual work of those employed by VFX vendors takes place outside of the U.S., at facilities in hubs such as Canada, the U.K. and India, where productions can go to take advantage of incentives or lower labor wages and may be outside of IATSE’s jurisdiction.
The challenges of the current structure and the reasons VFX workers looking to unionize want a change is evident. Less than half of VFX workers surveyed by IATSE have employers that provide them with “portable” healthcare (meaning health plans that travel from job to job) or those that contribute to any type of retirement fund. Additionally, 61% of vendor-side workers said they are not compensated for overtime, though long hours are not uncommon.
A decade ago, the potential benefit of organizing was loudly debated after the bankruptcy of VFX house Rhythm & Hues, just weeks prior to its work on “Life of Pi” winning a VFX Oscar. The incident launched rallies, meetings and other organized efforts within the community to raise awareness of the situation and find a solution.
At the time, after much consideration, the VFX community opted against unionizing if it was not global, amid concerns that it may backfire, potentially resulting in studios choosing to send more work out of the country. Since then, still more VFX work and workers have left California, and this concern remains.
Now a decade later, IATSE says it’s talking with overseas labor groups and other entities as potential partners in its effort, but there’s currently no clear solution. IATSE is negotiating contracts with the individual studios/companies where VFX staffers voted to unionize, with the aim of providing protections and benefits in line with its Basic Agreement. Longer term, it could seek to establish a VFX local that would work under the Basic Agreement.
With issues ranging from benefits to working conditions, that perception doesn’t appear to have changed much since then, which is why amid the recent work to create and ratify new contracts for entertainment workers, IATSE has simultaneously aimed to organize the largely non-union VFX community.
But history suggests the labor-union structure that supports entertainment workers such as cinematographers and makeup artists may not achieve the desired result for VFX practitioners, even though during the past year roughly 200 VFX workers at various studios and companies have voted to unionize under IATSE, including roughly 50 in-house VFX workers at Marvel Studios and 13 in-house VFX employees at Walt Disney Pictures.
There are distinctions. Many of the workers covered by the Basic Agreement are effectively freelancers, while many VFX workers can be employed by studios or, more often, third-party VFX vendors such as DNEG. (A few exceptions include VFX editors, who are members of Local 700, the Editors Guild.)
Further, much of the actual work of those employed by VFX vendors takes place outside of the U.S., at facilities in hubs such as Canada, the U.K. and India, where productions can go to take advantage of incentives or lower labor wages and may be outside of IATSE’s jurisdiction.
The challenges of the current structure and the reasons VFX workers looking to unionize want a change is evident. Less than half of VFX workers surveyed by IATSE have employers that provide them with “portable” healthcare (meaning health plans that travel from job to job) or those that contribute to any type of retirement fund. Additionally, 61% of vendor-side workers said they are not compensated for overtime, though long hours are not uncommon.
A decade ago, the potential benefit of organizing was loudly debated after the bankruptcy of VFX house Rhythm & Hues, just weeks prior to its work on “Life of Pi” winning a VFX Oscar. The incident launched rallies, meetings and other organized efforts within the community to raise awareness of the situation and find a solution.
At the time, after much consideration, the VFX community opted against unionizing if it was not global, amid concerns that it may backfire, potentially resulting in studios choosing to send more work out of the country. Since then, still more VFX work and workers have left California, and this concern remains.
Now a decade later, IATSE says it’s talking with overseas labor groups and other entities as potential partners in its effort, but there’s currently no clear solution. IATSE is negotiating contracts with the individual studios/companies where VFX staffers voted to unionize, with the aim of providing protections and benefits in line with its Basic Agreement. Longer term, it could seek to establish a VFX local that would work under the Basic Agreement.