Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation production staff file to unionize

polygon.com:

Production staff — 66 employees from Warner Bros. Animation and 22 from Cartoon Network — filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations board yesterday. The group is seeking Warner Bros.’ voluntary recognition of the union as a part of the Animation Guild.

The effort follows a year of upheaval at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network, in which both teams saw a large round of layoffs before they were brought under the same division. Simultaneously, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled a huge swath of its streaming animation from HBO Max, often without notice to creators.

Congrats to the WB and Cartoon Network production workers for filing an NLRB petition to unionize and demand voluntary recognition! Show your support to help them get the representation they deserve! <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/unionstrong?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#unionstrong

<a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAre839?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#WeAre839 <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProductionStrong?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#ProductionStrong pic.twitter.com/PSXZmlr35n

If Warner Bros. Discovery recognizes the union, either voluntarily or by forcing the National Labor Relations board to intercede, the WBA/Cartoon Network group would become one of a number of animation shops — including Rick and Morty, The Simpsons, and Family Guy — currently bargaining for their first union contract with the Animation Guild.

“Although many might not think it, production is a specialized skill; we might not be artists or writers, but what we bring to the table goes beyond traditional creativity and gets content on the air,” Hannah Ferenc, a production manager at WBA, said in the organization’s news release. “Having lived