'Avatar' Artists Become First VFX Artists In The United States To File For Union Election
Image Source: JoBlo
The IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) posted to X last week that Avatar VFX Artists filed for an election to unionize. According to the post, this is particularly significant for the industry because “They become the first ‘vendor-side’ VFX artists in the United States to formally file with the National Labor Relations Board for a unionization election.” Historically speaking VFX workers have not been represented by IATSE like other studio positions. Summer Benton, Environment Artist, said,
“Coming together as the Avatar family, we aim to achieve improvements that will help us be able to maintain our highest quality of work in a more sustainable work and keep bringing awe and inspiration to our leadership and to VFX productions everywhere.”
Patrick DeVaney, Post Vis Coordinator discussed the previous disparity in representation of VFX workers in the industry as a main reason behind his desire to seek unionization. He said he is, “organizing because every other department on a film is unionized and VFX is long overdue for the benefits, more equitable pay, and respect that those other departments have earned for themselves through collective bargaining.”
Issues related to earning livable wages and benefits, particularly healthcare, are driving forces behind the move toward unionizing. Christopher Cornejo, Lead Asset Technical Director, discussed the dilemmas related to those driving forces. Cornejo stated that in March of this year, he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. “It’s a disease that I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life, filled with doctors visits and medications. Despite all of this, I’ve been fortunate enough to remain in good health and work in a career I care about so much. However, many people in this industry and even within this studio are not so lucky, as none of this is cheap. My goal with unionizing here is to give all of us access to affordable healthcare, benefits, and a livable wage so that we continue to take care of ourselves both physically and mentally while working in one of the most fun and rewarding fields on the planet.”
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