Nitrogen Studios, the Vancouver shop behind the break-out adult animation hit Sausage Party, is the subject of a complaint by a local media workers’ union following the online weenie roast that saw a slew of animators and production employees complaining of unpaid overtime and missing credits.
The third-party complaint, filed by Unifor Local 2000, addresses the “serious allegations” of Nitrogen’s failure to pay some animators overtime during the production, requesting the Employment Standards Branch to investigate.
“Many of these animators are too scared to come forward – that’s why we’ve filed the third party complaint,” union Vice President Jennifer Moreau said. “They are afraid they will be blacklisted and denied future employment in what’s essentially a small, tight-knit community, where they go from contract to contract.”
Moreau explained that in Unifor Local 2000’s outreach to animation, visual effects and gaming industry employees, they are being told that companies use loopholes like classifying gigs as high-tech or contract work to bypass certain standards. She also pointed out that none of Vancouver’s animation companies are unionized.
“This is part of the problem. If these animators were unionized, we could negotiate better working conditions as part of their contract,” Moreau said. “It’s hard enough to live in Vancouver given the cost of housing. To work long hours and not get paid is just unacceptable.”
