Whiteboard Geeks Workers File To Unionize With The Animation Guild

The Animation Guild (TAG) is expanding its reach into a fifth state/territory after a group of 11 workers at Whiteboard Geeks in Virginia filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to form a union and be represented by the guild.

TAG currently represents workers at studios in California, New York, Texas, and Puerto Rico.

WBG specializes in hand-drawn whiteboard animation videos. Users commission WBG to create videos and accompany the artists through the full development and production process, from writing to storyboarding to editing. The studio has an informative how-to video about how it works, linked below.

The group of WBG workers looking to join TAG includes script writers, video editors, production assistants, and managers.

According to TAG, the group’s decision to unionize is “an essential step towards improving workplace conditions, securing fair wages, and enhancing the rights of animation professionals in Virginia.”

According to Whiteboard Geeks script writer Phillip Hilliker:

We have already come together to declare our intentions and are determined to see our strength recognized at the bargaining table. As the first animation union in Virginia, we hope this action will not only improve the working conditions at WBG but also help set a new, sustainable path for creatives across the Commonwealth.

Video editor Z Wang added:

Calling for a union is and has always been about uplifting workers’ voices and working in tandem to make the entire company better, inside and out. Whiteboard Geeks cannot grow and thrive in a healthy manner if we are each suffering over it individually, so I am seeking to not only create better conditions we have all been asking for but to also protect the environment that formed my affection for this company in the first place.