The Walt Disney Company is facing another setback after some of its visual effects artists voted this week to unionize in a move that is bound to cause ripple effects through a sector that is notorious for its sweatshop-like conditions.
Visual effects crews at Walt Disney Studios have voted to file with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election to unionize, according to a Variety report. A supermajority of more than 80 percent of the 18 in-house VFX crew members at Walt Disney Pictures signed the authorization cards to unionize.
This marks the second time Disney is facing an insurgent unionization effort among its visual effects crews.
VFX crews at Marvel Studios voted to unionize earlier this month, with a final vote to take place in September.
The votes come amid the Hollywood dual strikes involving writers and actors that have brought TV and movie production around the country to a historic halt. The labor unrest is encouraging other workers to rise up against corporate Hollywood executives, who have moved to consolidate their power in recent years through strategic mergers and the embrace of streaming entertainment.
For Disney, the union drives come amid unprecedented financial instability for the once-formidable company, with CEO Bob Iger slashing billions of dollars in spending in an attempt to right the ship.
The visual effects industry is rife with stories of horrific working conditions and job instability.
The most recent example came this summer, when news broke that more than 100 digital artists who worked on Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse quit during production due to alleged sweatshop-like conditions, with some blaming producer Phil Lord for the brutally long hours.
The digital animation and visual effects industries are notorious for their insanely long hours, especially when a major movie is involved. On top of that, the profession offers little in the way of job security, with companies going out of business even after landing lucrative contracts.
The most infamous example was the visual effects company Rhythm & Hues Studios, which declared bankruptcy shortly after working on the Oscar-winning Life of Pi. For the movie Cats, visual effects crews reportedly worked 90-hour weeks to complete the movie, with one visual effects artist likening working on the movie to “almost slavery.”
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