News

Visual effects (VFX) workers at Disney’s Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, and the “Avatar” franchise have successfully approved their first-ever collective bargaining agreements since their landmark unionization with IATSE two years ago.

Disney and Marvel VFX employee gain better health benefits, pension, and overtime.

According to the agreements announced by IATSE, workers at Disney and Marvel Studios secured four-year contracts. Key highlights include guaranteed overtime pay, established minimum-hour guarantees, and substantial health and pension benefits through inclusion in MPI Healthcare & Pension plans. These benefits represent an estimated compensation increase of around $13 per hour for each employee, covering health and retirement contributions. Additionally, the contracts provide pay increases on minimum rates retroactive to January 1, 2025.

“Avatar” franchise workers got a separate contract for three years.

Workers on the “Avatar” franchise received a separate three-year contract featuring preferential hiring rights on future films within the franchise, without a reduction in pay. This...

IATSE said Friday that visual effects workers at Disney’s Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures and the Avatar franchise have voted to approve their first collective bargaining agreements since unionizing in 2023.

The union said the Disney and Marvel contracts are four years before renegotiation, and include overtime pay and minimum hours guarantees; inclusion in MPI Healthcare & Pension (an increase in total compensation of about $13 per hour worked for every employee in the form of health care

and retirement contributions paid by the studios); and pay raises on minimum rates retroactive to January 1, 2025.

The Avatar workers’ contract is for three years and includes provisions for preferential hiring rights, without a loss of pay, on future Avatar films for current bargaining unit employees; IATSE Basic Agreement annual wage increases; Mpiphp benefits retroactive to August 1, 2024; and new wage scale rates based on a 40-hour work week on future films. More than a third...

U.S.-based visual effects artists who help bring James Cameron’s Avatar epics to life have voted to unionize in a National Labor Relations Board election.

Of an eligible 88 workers at Walt Disney Studios subsidiary Tcf US Productions 27, Inc. who assist with productions for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, 57 voted to join the union and 19 voted against, while two ballots were void. These workers include creatures costume leads and environment artists as well as others in the stage, environments, render, post viz, sequence, turn over and kabuki departments.

Management and labor now have a few days to file any objections, and if none are raised, the election results will be certified.

IATSE announced the news on social media platform X on Wednesday. “I could not be more proud of my fellow visual effects workers on the Avatar sequels for standing together to secure our right to collectively bargain for more equitable compensation and benefits,...

A group of visual effects artists who work on Disney’s CGI-heavy “Avatar” films have voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It marks the first time a group of “vendor-side” VFX artists have won union representation through an official National Labor Relations Board vote.

The vote came down to 57 people in favor of union representation and 19 voting against. These VFX workers are employed by a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios and work on the “Avatar” films through the Lightstorm Entertainment production company.

“I could not be more proud of my fellow visual effects workers on the ‘Avatar’ sequels for standing together to secure our right to collectively bargain for more equitable compensation and benefits,” said Patrick DeVaney, a post-vis coordinator at Lightstorm, in a statement.

The news comes a few months after workers at Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures voted to unionize with IATSE last fall.