‘Solar Opposites’ Production Workers Vote To Join The Animation Guild

Production workers on 20th Television’s animated series Solar Opposites have voted in favor of joining The Animation Guild (TAG) IATSE Local 839.

On Wednesday, an eight-person bargaining unit representing production workers on the show voted unanimously to join TAG, making them the second group of production workers in Los Angeles to be represented by The Animation Guild in recent months. In March, a union for production workers at Titmouse L.A. was voluntarily recognized.

The Animation Guild took to social media to celebrate the win, tweeting:

Congrats to the #SolarOpposites production organizing committee on their #NLRB victory! This means the #AnimationGuild is now officially certified to represent them in bargaining a first #union contract.

Solar Opposites writer and production coordinator Dana Bell added on Twitter:

I am bad at sharing good news but yesterday Solar production voted unanimously to join TAG !! we did it!!!

Production workers on Solar Opposites and those on fellow Justin Roiland-co-created series Rick and Morty filed a petition to unionize in February of this year. That filing came after workers’ requests for voluntary recognition of their units were declined by the respective studios, The Walt Disney Company and Warnermedia, according to the Animation Guild.

Artists on Solar Opposites and Rick and Morty were already unionized before February’s petition. Now, production workers will join them in collective bargaining include production managers, production supervisors, design assistant, casting assistant, storyboard coordinator, and office production coordinators, and assistants.

As for Rick and Morty production workers, The Animation Guild has indicated that a more recent card count resulted in a voluntary recognition of unionization, although Adult Swim has not yet commented publicly.

Image at top: “Solar Opposites.”