New Deadline Set in Animation Guild Contract Negotiations as Guidelines Around AI Use Loom

Contract negotiations for The Animation Guild (TAG) have made little to no progress, as protections against artificial intelligence (AI) technology remain a major topic of discussion.
Despite the meeting, the two parties must now reach a consensus before the updated Dec. 2 deadline.
TAG, also known as IATSE Local 839, represents nearly 5,000 animation artists, writers, and technicians.
Members are seeking fair wages, job security, and commonsense guardrails around generative AI use, noting the AMPTP is investing in systems “designed to siphon creativity out of our content and shrink crews even further.”
Along with other entertainment entities in Hollywood, TAG argues that AI poses a unique threat to animators’ livelihoods and that while it currently can’t replace all human creatives, it can already perform some of the basic tasks that were once included in entry-level positions.
The elimination of staff positions creates a financially unstable environment and almost entirely eliminates current and future writers from the workforce.
A basic agreement was originally negotiated in June. At the time, it only included blanket protection for its TAG employees against AI, with members seeking stronger terms.
The agreement insisted that any AI work cannot be outsourced to non-union labor, ensuring that if a worker loses a job due to AI, he or she is entitled to severance and retraining.
Additionally, workers can request a “consultation” on AI usage at their leisure. An AI Task Force has been set up to establish any AI training or identify concerns surrounding the technology.
Union workers and their supporters have already held a number of demonstrations since they began negotiations in August, including a march outside the Netflix office in Burbank, California.
The union has announced that more demonstrations will be held in front of other AMPTP member companies in the next few weeks.
In a similar move, more than 200 recording artists signed an open letter denouncing AI usage, calling the technology an “enormous threat to our ability to protect our privacies, our identities, our music, and our livelihoods.”