Originally it was thought that since animation writers were of a different union than the striking members of the WGA that animation production would be a safe haven during this strike. But that’s turning out to not be true, at least for tv animation. The reason? Showrunners see themselves as part writers and are joining the strike in solidarity. As Steve Hulett reports from The Animation Guild blog:
This morning, at the request of the crew, I spent two hours at Fox Animation in a packed conference room answering questions.
Yesterday, board artists, designers and directors got the word from management that their employment on Family Guy and American Dad
could end at any time. The show runners — members of the WGA — aren’t
coming into work, so there is only so much production work that can be
done.And it isn’t very much.
It’s sad news that the studios refusal to negotiate at all for internet residuals is going to ruin the incomes of thousands of families, but there is hope. The networks are going to run out of original programming sooner than they thought. That might be a good sign for a shorter strike.