Apple TV Visual Effects Workers Unanimously Join IATSE Union

IATSE appears to have achieved another milestone in unionizing visual effects workers.

Twelve employees working on several Apple Studios projects voted unanimously to join the union. This decision came after a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ballot count held on Tuesday, an NLRB spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, and IATSE confirmed. Apple and IATSE now have five business days to file any objections before the election results are certified. Regardless, Apple is required to begin negotiations with the union.

VFX production manager Nick DeGrazia expressed his gratitude towards the organizers, saying, “I couldn’t be more thankful to our organizers for bringing yet another victory to VFX workers. I hope that we can continue this wave across the entire industry so we can share the benefits, rights, and respect we deserve.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the visual effects crew members involved are working on six Apple Studios LLC shows: Bubbi, Jiminy, Foxtrot, Government Cheese, Surface, and Black Bird. Their roles range from VFX production assistants and VFX witness camera operators to VFX on-set supervisors. IATSE and Apple are still negotiating whether VFX production supervisors and managers can be part of the bargaining unit. Although these workers were allowed to vote “under challenge,” their votes were not included in the final “yes” tally.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Apple for a comment on the ballot count results.

This recent election outcome signifies another success for IATSE in its ongoing efforts to make headway into the predominantly non-union visual effects industry. Over the past two years, IATSE has successfully unionized in-house visual effects crews at Marvel and Walt Disney Pictures, following an earlier attempt a decade ago. Additionally, this year, the labor group has unionized workers at a Disney subsidiary who contribute to the Avatar films.

In June, when IATSE publicly launched its drive to unionize Apple Studios, VFX lead data wrangler Liam Mazarra declared, “We deserve rights and representation equal to others in our industry.” VFX coordinator Valerie Wicks added, “Apple is a wonderful place to work, so I participated [in the union drive] partly to keep it that way…But most of all, I participated for the greater goal of unionizing all of VFX, across every studio. That’s the dream, and we are now one step closer.”

IATSE international president Matthew Loeb issued a statement on Tuesday concerning the Apple vote, indicating that the union is committed to making further advances in the visual effects industry. “The VFX union movement has been decades in the making, and now is the time,” said Loeb. “We will continue to relentlessly support VFX workers in negotiating a fair first contract that addresses their collective needs and concerns, and we urge the entire entertainment labor community to stand with them as well.”