The Animation Guild is attempting an expansion into the Lone Star State.
The IATSE Local is seeking to organize around 137 workers at Powerhouse Animation Studios, the Castlevania and Masters of the Universe: Revelation producer based in Austin, it announced on Monday. This group of workers, which consists primarily of artists and some production workers, requested voluntary recognition from management and filed for a National Labor Relations Board election on Monday.
While The Animation Guild has been unionizing animation studios outside of L.A. County since 2022, the Powerhouse Animation Studios drive is TAG’s first in a so-called “right-to-work” state, according to the union. (Texas has a right-to-work law in effect, which prohibit union-security agreements that require employees in a bargaining unit to join a union and/or pay union dues.) The unionization effort is the guild’s third outside of L.A. County, with its two previous efforts taking place in New York and resulting in certified unions.
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“Though it may not be the thing most people know the state for, Texas has a long history of working-class movements. The tough and talented workers at Powerhouse are adding to that legacy and breaking new ground today,” TAG executive board member Brandon Jarrett said in a statement.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Powerhouse Animation Studios for comment.
Workers involved in the effort — including directors, background designers, animators and production assistants — say they are seeking more wage equality and job security with a union contract. “We want to empower leadership to negotiate on more equal ground with our clients and secure contracts that are fairer and that meet our needs as an animation studio that consistently creates high-quality art,” Powerhouse Animation character artist Suzanne Sharp said in a statement.
Added production manager Ryan Arrington, “Together we can push for better contracts that support a healthy work/life balance, career training and growth, fair pay and wages, and better job security for our staff.”
The union initiated its push outside of Southern California with the successful unionization of Harriet the Spy and Superjail! studio Titmouse New York in early 2022. That effort was followed by an organizing drive at Paramount+’s Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News a few months later, which also resulted in a union in the state.
Beyond its headquarters in Austin, Powerhouse Animation also has a small studio in L.A., which already has a union contract with TAG.
