Soon, there may be an election for unionisation because the VFX artists at Walt Disney have approached the National Labour Relations Board filing for the same. That means, even visual effects employees at Walt Disney Pictures will be able to raise their voices against low pay and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The campaign will no doubt gain traction as VFX workers from across the industry will use the opportunity to improve their lot.
Clearly, the VFX artists realise that Disney cannot do without them and their talent. Fan have also shown their support via memes on social media.
Various studios are already crippled by the ongoing strike in Hollywood. For about 120 days now, Hollywood’s writers, represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), have been on strike. They received support from Hollywood’s actors with the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joining them in the strike July onwards. Negotiations are still on with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios and production companies of Hollywood, including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Warner Bros and Apple.
Till last week, the writers’ union maintained that the studios were not offering adequate protection to writers from the threats that led to the strike. The public disclosure of the studios’ proposal did not satisfy the writers at all. The studios, on the other hand, maintained that their recent proposal grants writers the biggest hike in wages witnessed in the past 30 years.
