Visual effects artists working for Marvel have taken the first step towards unionisation in a notoriously poorly represented area of the film industry. According to a statement from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) a group of on-set VFX artists employed by the studio have filed a petition with the US’s National Labor Relations Board.
Hailing the move as “a major shift in an industry that has largely remained non-union since VFX was pioneered during production of the first Star Wars films in the 1970s”, the IATSE said a supermajority of Marvel’s 50-plus VFX crew had signed authorisation cards indicating they wished to be represented by the union, which already represents around 168,000 technicians and craftspeople in live theatre, film and TV and associated areas in the US and Canada.
In a statement, the IATSE’s VFX organiser Mark Patch said: “For almost half a century, workers in the visual effects industry have been denied the same protections and benefits their coworkers and crewmates have relied upon since the beginning of the Hollywood film industry. This is a historic first step for VFX workers coming together with a collective voice demanding respect for the work we do.”
The petition, which is the first step to creating union recognition for Marvel’s VFX artists, applies only to “on-set” crew, which includes data wranglers, production managers, witness camera operators, and assistants on both film and TV productions.
The move comes during a surge of concerted activism in the US screen industry, with both the writers’ guild and actors’ union Sag-Aftra on strike simultaneously for the first time since 1960. In August 2022, reports emerged of widespread discontent among Marvel VFX artists, with one posting on social media that Marvel is “a horrible client” and that “the issue is #Marvel is too big, and can demand whatever they want. It’s a toxic relationship”. Complaints included that Marvel, which is owned by Disney, “[orders] changes late in the process, far in excess of a typical client”, overworking and underpaying staff, with huge workloads including multiple versions of scenes created in parallel.
IATSE VFX coordinator Bella Huffman said: “Turnaround times don’t apply to us, protected hours don’t apply to us, and pay equity doesn’t apply to us. Visual Effects must become a sustainable and safe department.”
