The Animation Guild has completed unionization drives at three animation production studios, including SpindleHorse, the indie animation studio behind the Amazon Prime/A24 series “Hazbin Hotel” and “Helluva Boss.”
Animators at SpindleHorse requested and received voluntary recognition for their new union on Tuesday. Studio founder and “Hazbin Hotel” creator Vivienne Medrano is an Animation Guild member. The recognition, which establishes a bargaining unit of 106 SpindleHorse employees, comes a month ahead of the season 2 release of “Hazbin Hotel” on Amazon and as production has begun at the studio on an adaptation of the 2010s webcomic “Homestuck.”
The SpindleHorse union is particularly notable for having a majority of studio employees working remotely outside of the Los Angeles County area. The Animation Guild and IATSE as a whole has made a concerted effort in recent years to expand union benefits and protections to animators who work in other states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada, particularly as many workers within the field have been pushed out of Los Angeles due to high living costs.
“SpindleHorse is leading the charge in the indie animation industry by pushing for stability for its passionate and highly creative team. We look forward to working with SpindleHorse to overcome boundaries and show what dedicated artists can achieve in the indie scene!” cleanup/renderer Melanie An said in a statement.
Elsewhere, TAG has continued its efforts to bring production workers at Hollywood animation houses into its fold, unionizing 60 production workers at Netflix Animation and 12 production workers on the Peacock comedy series “Ted.” The Animation Guild has previously organized production workers at studios like Disney, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon and Titmouse.
“For the last five years, production workers at almost every major animation studio in Southern California have demanded recognition for the essential role they play keeping the animation pipeline flowing,” says organizer Allison Smartt.
“Many union production workers are negotiating their second contracts, proof that this movement is here to stay. From DreamWorks to Disney to Nickelodeon, they continue to fight for living wages, demand respect for their crafts, and negotiate strong contracts. Now it’s time for production workers at Netflix and ‘Ted’ to join this community and access the same opportunities,” she continued.