Thank you for taking the time to clear up what I assumed was a line of thinking I’d run into on other forums. I’ve spoken to people both in person and in discussion threads who tell me that they’d like for an organization like TAG to have the wand you spoke of. Something that required as little effort on their part as possible to make the changes that we’d all like to see. Some people are also just scarred and approach me tentatively and under the insistence of anonymity.

When I crafted my response to you, I had just answered a post in that fashion and knee-jerked the assumption that it was the same kind of thinking I had just dealt with. It is inspiring to make contact with people like yourself and VFX Soldier who, like me, feel that visual effects artists deserve better treatment and have taken action to see it happen.

Steve Kaplan
skaplan@animationguild.org

When I wrote my brief introduction for your letter to TAG, my mention of “work on the part of employees” was not meant in a negative connotation at all. One of the things I keep hearing from various corners is the cry of “Why won’t someone save us? Why won’t someone unionize us?”

As I’ve pointed out numerous times on this web site, change starts from within and requires lots of work on the part of artists and employees if they desire to unionize a shop where they work. This is not negative or positive, it’s just a fact. I was merely emphasizing the point that while it’s awesome that TAG is getting proactive it’s still going to require teamwork on the part of artists and employees with the union to do a lot of the leg work. I just didn’t want anyone reading your letter to get the unrealistic idea that you and TAG would be able to swoop into a shop, wave their magic wand and unionize without the artists and employees working hard for what they believe in.

Respectfully and positively,
FXDAG.org

One thing that needs to be corrected in Steve’s post is the no strike clause. It’s a classic argument against the guild that we all fall for. The no-strike clause that exists is the same SAG, WGA etc. We strike only after negotiations have failed, not while a contract is in place. The same clause exists in the contracts we sign individually with our employers: While you are under contract, you must work. When your contract is over you may quit.

The guild clarifies this:
http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/no-strike-clause.html

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I am Steve Kaplan, and I am the new Labor Organizer for The Animation Guild.

Thank you for reposting the message we sent to our members today. With my recent hire, the efforts to expand the studios that are under contract with us has been reinvigorated. I am certainly excited and eager to help bring the benefits that Guild membership offers to as many artists as we can.

I noticed that you mentioned work on the part of the employee in a negative tone, and would like to address that. Not having fully read the VEG Google Doc, I can not speak directly to its tenants and strengths. However, I would be willing to make the argument that any change that takes place is going to require the efforts of all involved. I have read and discussed the advantages of an organization that can come in and intimidate, compel, or otherwise force management to submit to the will of the vfx artist. As nice as it would be to form an organization whose very existence would compel studios to comply with state and federal labor and wage laws, offer fair and just health benefits and generally improve the lives of the vfx worker by cutting into the spoils of the work they create, doing so is still going to require efforts of the part of most, if not some, of the group to be represented.

I left the craft to become the Organizer for the Guild because I was scarred of what would happen to my family if I fell sick or injured and I didn’t have proper health care, I was sick of talking ad nauseam about how unfair our working conditions were (hours, benefits, credits) and not doing something about it and I saw the job listing and decided that I needed to act so I could feel good about the craft and people I love.

(Allow me to remove the blue and red tights)

Any kind of change will require the action of those who want the change. We all recognize the deficiencies in the work place and have a burning desire to change them. Precious few of us will actually stand and be counted as ones in favor of the change. The reasons, no matter how the came to be, are reasonable and fair. However, without collective and unified voices, the changes we want will be extremely difficult to achieve.

I mention as often as possible that the Guild is nothing without its members. We can not nor would we want to act without the consent of our members. Its true that our current contract has a No Strike clause. Do you want to change that? You can, if you bring it up in a meeting and discuss it with the group. Do you feel that our Wage Minimums are too small? You can change that, if you vote to as a group. The Guild is a means to shift the balance of power in the workplace so that the employees have an equal share. With equality between the employer and employee, favorable conditions are easier to come by, work then continues with both parties happy and everyone prospers. Absolute power, on either side, will corrupt absolutely.

Please feel free to contact me any time with your questions, comments or suggestions.

skaplan@animationguild.org