DNEG Montreal Becomes The Company’s Second Canadian VFX Outfit To Unionize

Workers at DNEG Montreal have officially received recognition from the Tribunal Administratif du Travail du Quebec, the region’s labor law tribunal, and unionized with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

DNEG Montreal is now the second of the company’s Canadian locations where workers have formed a union after DNEG Vancouver employees received their labor board confirmation in November of last year.

The Vancouver outfit was Canada’s first vendor-side vfx shop to form a union. According to IATSE, that was a watershed moment for the Canadian vfx industry, and workers across the country have shown an increased desire to follow suit and improve their own working conditions through unionizing.

That includes workers at DNEG’s Toronto location, who have already filed for union certification and are waiting for the Ontario Labor Relations Board to rule on the matter.

IATSE international representative Isabelle Lecompte said in a release:

We are thrilled that workers at DNEG Montreal have the representation they fought so hard to win. As the largest of the three DNEG studios, this is an important step for workers across the entire company having union representation.

John Lewis, IATSE international vp and director of Canadian Affairs, added:

We are seeing an unprecedented amount of worker engagement and empowerment in vfx right now. Not only here in Canada but in the U.S.A. as well. VFX workers are finding a home in the IATSE.