On Tuesday, roughly 100 people marched in support of the Writers Guild of America outside the Warner Bros. Discovery building on Park Avenue South in New York City, braving rainy conditions and welcoming a motivated animation contingent. Signs decorated to display contributions to Futurama, PAW Patrol, Spider-Man, Dexter’s Laboratory, Big Mouth, Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lined the sidewalk as the Atlantic coast’s cartoon scribes made themselves seen and heard.
Animation writers on the East Coast, namely New York, are not covered by the WGA East contract and are not included in agreements between L.A.-based IATSE Local 839, The Animation Guild — which, due to the status of its own contract with the AMPTP, can not join the strike as SAG-AFTRA did but has been a vocal supporter. WGA East Executive Director Lowell Peterson was quoted saying most animation writing in the city is non-union, particularly children’s animation.
Susan Kim, WGA East Animation Caucus co-chair, asserted the group’s commitment to cover animation writers and urged those in attendance to sign in to be part of coming guild evolution.
“This has been a long, horrible battle trying to get animation writing covered. We are not giving up. I’m really just here to say that when the strike is over, when we have won the contract we deserve, we are circling back to animation,” said Kim, whose writing and story editing credits include kids’ and preschool favorites Courage the Cowardly Dog, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur.
In a statement issue to The Hollywood Reporter, TAG business representative Steve Kaplan commented, “We support the organizing of any and all members of the entertainment industry who are not protected under a collective bargaining agreement. Right now, our focus is on standing in support of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members to get the best deal possible during this difficult time in the industry.”
During the event, which kicked off with free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream donated by Jerry Greenfield and dished out by Stephen Colbert, many demonstrators shared their experiences over the years coping with unfair pay and a lack of benefits, and calling out the contrast in entertainment, educational and emotional value created by animated series and films.
Michael Winship, President of WGA East, pointed a finger specifically at Warner Bros. Discovery, which despite being one of the largest and most storied producers of animation “that once was the source of so much brilliance, anarchy and hilarity is now bogged down, resisting the creativity of its talent and performers, refusing to give us a proper wage and threatening to take away our livelihoods.”
Speaking to the crowd, prolific voice actor Jim Conroy (The Ruff Ruffman Show, Jellystone!), joined by colleague Dwayne Hill (Camp Lakebottom, Peg+Cat), offered a poignant summary of the writers’ points about the impact of animation — not only on the entertainment business, but socially and culturally:
“500 years from now, nobody’s going to remember who Jerry Seinfeld was, but somebody’s going to have a Mickey Mouse t-shirt.”
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
