The age of Hollywood workers fighting back against the dire state of the industry has just gained another fighter, as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA continue to strike their hearts out for fair treatment. The long-mistreated visual effects team at Marvel Studios has now officially voted to unionize.
Per Vulture, the overwhelming majority of the 50+ member department has signed off on the wish to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), who have historically represented such professions as art directors, camera operators, script supervisors, grips, lighting crews, and countless other essential positions.
It’s no secret that Marvel Studios’ VFX department is notoriously overworked and burdened with impossible situations (a state of affairs they tragically share with the VFX crew behind Sony’s Spider-Verse franchise as well), and with the relentless criticism of the CGI quality in such recent projects as Thor: Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the dots admittedly should have been connected far sooner.
Mark Patch, the VFX organizer for IATSE, called the move from Marvel’s VFX team “a historic first step” for the profession’s future in Hollywood, where they will hopefully be greeted by a tomorrow that gives them the respect they deserve, complete with reasonable turnaround times, protected hours, and pay equity. Although, for a franchise that relies so heavily on spectacular visuals that practical effects simply can’t pull off, it’s nothing short of a shame that it had to come to this.
The workers have petitioned for a union election to take place as early as Aug. 21.
