ANIMATION GUILD AND AFFILIATED ELECTRONIC AND GRAPHIC ARTS Los Angeles, California, December 2019 Vol. 48, No13 I just looked back on The Pegboard from December 2018 to refresh myself on the fi nal issue of what was a very busy year. This year was a little less hectic: with our main contract (the Master Agreement) settled, we only had four smaller contracts to work out with the major studios, plus a lot of individual deals. We did, however, get a lot done besides our usual collective baragining. Highlights include taking the biggest delegation in our Local’s history to the District 2 Convention in Hono- lulu, Hawai’i, holding an election for Offi cers and E-Board and seeing member engagement and committee participation take off like a rocket. My original intention for this article was to write about the outgoing and incoming Executive Board members, changes at the Guild over the last few years and some events to look forward to in 2020. A lot of little things have happened this week, though, that have reminded me about something very important: a union is made up of working people stand- ing together to make things better for themselves and others. I decided to throw out that fi rst article and start fresh with a little insight into what kind of stuff happens behind the scenes here at the Animation Guild. We just had an election that saw many members getting involved for the fi rst time. Our former Business Rep, Jason MacLeod, decided that a single incredibly productive three-year term was enough for a mere mor- tal, so he is off to a new phase of his career and we welcomed our former MEMBERS MAKE IT HAPPEN (continued on page 3) IN THIS ISSUE Members Make It Happen .......................................... 1 From the President .................................................. 4 Dues Increase ......................................................... 5 From the Business Representative .................................. 6 Women’s March IATSE Inter-Local Sign Making Event ......... 7 Member Perspective ................................................ 8 Five Ways to Get Involved ......................................... 9 California Labor Federation Pre-Primary Convention ......... 10 TAG at Comic Arts LA ............................................. 11 Get App Happy .....................................................12 FAM Committee Holiday Social ..................................17 Holiday Market Cheer and Funds for the IATSE PAC ......... 18 Member Party Is Moving in 2020 .......................20 In Memoriam/TAG Members at CNS Pop-Up Shop ............21 January Gallery Show ..............................................22 Upcoming Events at the Animation Guild ...................... 23 THE PEGBOARD is published monthly by The Animation Guild and Affi liated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts IATSE Local 839, 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505-2528 phone (818) 845-7500 • fax (818) 843-0300 [email protected] • www.animationguild.org PRESIDENT BUSINESS VICE-PRESIDENT Jeanette Moreno king REPRESENTATIVE Jack Thomas Steve Kaplan RECORDING SECRETARY SERGEANT-AT-ARMS PEGBOARD EDITOR Paula Spence Robert St. Pierre Paula Spence EXECUTIVE BOARD Jack Cusumano • Danny Ducker • Laura Hohman • Brandon Jarratt KC Johnson • Crystal Kan • Carrie Liao • Mike Milo Elisa Phillips • Stephen Silver • Emily Walus TRUSTEES KC Johnson • Carrie Liao • Stephen Silver SHOP STEWARDS Greg Colton (Fox Animation) • Scott Carpenter (Disney TVA, Sonora) Jorge Garcia (DreamWorks Feature) • Charlotte Jackson (Netfl ix) Cathy Jones (Disney TVA, Empire) • Amanda Li (Netfl ix) Kyle Neswald (Cartoon Network) • Drew Newman (Bento Box) Susan Nguyen (DreamWorks TV, Flower) • Justin Weber (Disney Feature) All contents © 2019 by TAG Local 839 IATSE. All rights reserved. ISSN 1523-9365. Publications of bona fi de labor organizations may reprint articles from this newsletter so long as attribution is given. You can stop by the Animation Guild offi ce weekdays between 8:30 am and 5 pm and pick up current or recent back copies of The Pegboard, free of charge. PEGBOARD SUBSCRIPTION POLICY: Active members automatically receive The Pegboard free of charge. Members on honorable withdrawal may continue to receive the newsletter without charge by sending an annual writ- ten request on or before the expiration date on the mailing label. The subscription rate for suspended members and non-members is $10.00 per year ($15.00 foreign, check in U. S. funds), checks made out to the Animation Guild and sent to 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505-2528, U.S.A. The Pegboard is printed on recycled paper. 2 MEMBERS MAKE IT HAPPEN (continued on page 3) Field Rep, Steve Kaplan, to the position. Steve attended the California Labor Federation Pre-Primary Convention on December 11th and had this to say: “Acting as a delegate to the central labor council is an eye- opening experience. Usually, my focus is narrowed to the concerns of our members and the animation industry. Attending events like a COPE Convention, and the LA Fed’s House of Labor, helps me to expand my thinking and realize that organized labor, when acting together, is a pow- erful force. While I am proud to represent the interests of our members, I am honored to stand with other members of organized labor and use our power to make changes for the betterment of all working people.” Here are some other ways that individuals worked to make some pretty darn cool things happen – just in the last several days. Roger Oda wrote an opinion piece (p. 8) to say why he’s going to stay engaged after running for offi ce in the recent election. Jeanette Moreno King was sworn in as President after a very long and hectic day of travel from the other end of the country and she still had the energy to write her fi rst “From the President” piece for this newsletter (p. 4). Outgoing E-Board member Ashley Long organized a second Holiday Market, where talent- ed and crafty TAG members sold their wares (p.18). Over 100 members donated their Post-It Note artwork to raise $1500-plus for the IATSE PAC, which lobbies for workers rights and labor-friendly legislation in Washington, DC (p.19). Our Field Rep Leslie Simmons ran the fundrais- er, made several studio visits, coordinated TAG member participation at several events outside the Guild, attended meetings to share the exper- tise she gained working at other unions so that our Local can be more eff ective, and somehow also showed up at the COPE Convention (p. 10) and an IATSE Inter-Local Union Power event. Kris Mukai moderated a forum on Unionizing for Artists at Comic Arts LA (p. 11), then spread the word about a Game Workers Unite potluck to other TAG members (p. 23). Kristin Donner and Kyle Neswald brought families together at the FAM Committee Holiday Social (p. 17). Teri and Jack Cusumano prepared for an IATSE inter-Local signmaking event for the Women’s March in January. And as soon as I fi nish writing the next few sentences, I will have completed another issue of The Pegboard, which has been published since the early 1960s – this newsletter doesn’t write itself! It takes engaged members to run a labor union, and I’m thankful there are so many people working together to make ours a strong one. I hope you keep reading because there’s lots more good stuff to come in 2020! — Paula Spence, Pegboard Editor 3 My fi rst meeting as president didn’t start as I expected. I was late to the swearing in of the new Executive Board. My fl ight from Baltimore had been delayed a few hours and. with the added hour- long drive from LAX. guaranteed I was not going to make it in time to the Smokehouse in Burbank where, per tradition, the changing of the Board takes place. Texts were fl ying back and forth on how to proceed with the meeting. We fi nally decided that KC, the outgoing Guild Presi- dent, would wait to relinquish the chair until I arrived and would run the meeting until she and I could be sworn in to our new positions. WHEW. It was a packed fl ight with a harried crew with no patience for the whimpering 7-month-old Chihuahua mix I regretfully thought would be “fun” to travel with. A supervisor was waiting at the gate to inform me that this was going on our permanent record and the dog would be banned from any future fl ights. I tried my best to hide my glee and show contrition for this punishment. After a not so short shuttle ride to Lot E, my family and I, with our still whining puppy, jumped into our car and headed into rush hour traf- fi c. It was one of those days where taking surface streets had the same ETA as the highways – bad but it could’ve been much worse. When we arrived I felt pangs of guilt as I left my family with our audibly distressed pooch and headed into The Smokehouse. A cheer went up as I entered the meeting room. These are my people. The outgoing Board seated next to our incoming Board warmed my heart. Being in the company of these talented, motivated individuals who are willing to give of themselves for the greater good of our industry and members is a real privilege. To have been elected to lead such a fi ne group is truly humbling. They all make me work harder and expect more from myself. With food orders placed, I took control of the gavel. The conversation and exchange of ideas between outgoing and incoming Boards is stimu- lating to watch. I wish we could have one last meeting with both Boards. 4 There was much to discuss at this meeting and the new Board mem- bers, most of whom have already been actively participating on commit- tees and as shop stewards, were off and running.