Disney’s VFX team overcome ‘fear and silence’ to join Marvel in historic union bid

For decades Disney has relied on the magic of visual effects (VFX) to bring some of its most beloved properties to life, but never in the industry’s 50-year history have its workers come together to unionize. Until now. 

Today, the VFX workers at Disney filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize under the representation of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), according to Below the Line. The decision comes following years of fighting the “fear and silence” VFX Organizer Mark Patch says has kept the community quiet.

“Today, courageous Visual Effects workers at Walt Disney Pictures overcame the fear and silence that have kept our community from having a voice on the job for decades. With an overwhelming supermajority of these crews demanding an end to ‘the way VFX has always been,’ this is a clear sign that our campaign is not about one studio or corporation. It’s about VFX workers across the industry using the tools at our disposal to uplift ourselves and forge a better path forward.”

Earlier this month, Marvel’s VFX workers also voted to unionize, marking the first time in history VFX professionals came together in such a momentous way. With Disney’s VFX workers joining the conversation, it marks the second time in less than a month that two of the biggest studios in Hollywood have spoken out against poor working conditions that plague the industry. 

Shortly after the union bid at Marvel, VFX Organizer, Mark Patch came forth with damning allegations against the superhero studio, revealing how impossible it is to maintain a work-life balance working for the superhero studio, even going so far as to say “You’re not allowed to have a husband or a partner or kids when you work for Marvel.” 

Disney’s VFX work has helped create some of the studio’s biggest films to date including the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and all of the studio’s live-action reimagining of its animated classics such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, all of which have earned the company over $9 billion. 

VFX workers have historically been left to their own devices since the industry took shape in the 1970s in the aftermath of the Star Wars movies. Meanwhile, a number of other positions in the entertainment world have been represented by IATSE, such as hair and makeup artists, costume and wardrobe workers, script supervisors, grip workers,  production designers, and art directors, among others. 

The 80% supermajority vote consists of eighteen in-house VFX workers at Disney. With their union bid filed, a labor board election will now meet to determine the outcome. The committee could commence as soon as the middle of September.