Production Management Workers At Walt Disney Animation Studios Have Ratified Their First Union Contract

Production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) in Burbank have ratified their first union contract with the studio. The workers are repped by The Animation Guild (TAG), IATSE Local 839.

The process took two years from the time a supermajority of production workers first voted to unionize in February 2023. That decision was initially met by resistance from the studio leadership, which led to a National Labor Relations Board hearing. The hearing and ultimate ruling on September 27, 2023, found that full-time production coordinators, production supervisors, and production managers were eligible to join TAG.

“It’s been an uphill journey, but at long last, we’ve reached the mountaintop,” production coordinator Tamara Lee said in a statement. “We are standing in our breakthrough — stronger, bolder, and united.”

TAG offered more details on the lengthy contract negotiation:

Negotiations for the first contract began on April 11, 2024 and reached a tentative agreement on February 13, 2025. The agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by the unit (96% voter participation and ratified with 93% support), which is a sideletter to the existing WDAS collective bargaining agreement. Under this contract, production workers will now receive many of the same protections as their artistic counterparts, including pension and health benefits. Moreover, substantial wage increases to the minimums have been secured: a 24% increase for production managers, a 29% increase for production supervisors, and a 35% increase for production coordinators — the lowest-paid workers in the unit.

The new contract marks the first time that production management in a feature animation studio has achieved unionization through TAG. Currently, Dreamworks Animation production workers, both on the feature and television side, are negotiating for their first contract.

“During this downturn in entertainment production, production management workers at one of the most powerful corporations in the world stood up and demanded more,” TAG organizer Allison Smartt said. “Their daily fight for fair treatment and pay is often outside the public eye. They’ve been signing petitions, marching to deliver signatures, staging courageous silent protests in front of executives, and regularly engaging in the fight for their fair share for years, setting an inspiring example.”