Workers at Swaybox Studios in New Orleans have voted to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), securing union representation through a National Labor Relations Board election and marking one of the largest film and television organizing victories in the union’s recent history.
Swaybox is currently working on a Warner Bros. Pictures Animation feature with a budget of approximately $90 million. As a result, this victory represents one of the largest organizing drives in film and television production undertaken by IATSE in recent years and expands union representation into an area of animation where workers have long lacked industry-standard protections.
The newly organized bargaining unit includes 136 workers, a number expected to grow significantly as Swaybox moves deeper into production on current and future projects. The group includes a broad cross-section of animation, visual effects, editorial, puppet and set fabrication, costume, prop, technical, engineering, production support, information technology, facilities, and administrative workers who bring Swaybox’s stop-motion productions to life.
Read more