The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839)

Overview

The Animation Guild, operating as IATSE Local 839, is the union representing animation artists, writers, and technicians working in feature animation, television animation, stop-motion, and visual effects in the United States. Founded in 1952, Local 839 covers a broad range of animation production roles including directors, writers, story artists, animators, layout artists, background painters, character designers, visual development artists, compositors, and production staff working at animation studios in Los Angeles and beyond.

The Guild represents workers at major animation studios including Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, and smaller independent animation studios, as well as animation artists working at live-action studios with in-house animation departments. Its jurisdiction covers both traditional hand-drawn animation (now largely historical) and contemporary computer-generated animation workflows.

Membership and Classifications

Local 839 organizes its membership by job classification, with rates and working conditions varying by role and studio agreement. Directors and writers working in animation hold their own classifications, distinct from their live-action counterparts in the DGA and WGA -- a jurisdictional structure that creates important differences in compensation, creative rights, and residuals for animation professionals compared to their live-action equivalents.

Story artists, who develop the visual narrative through boards before animation begins, and character designers, who establish the visual identity of animated characters, are two of the most creative-facing classifications covered by Local 839. Both roles involve sustained creative contribution to a production's visual character that is directly comparable to the contributions of art department staff on live-action productions.

Animation vs. Live-Action Labor Distinctions

One of the most significant practical aspects of Local 839 membership is the distinction between animation and live-action labor jurisdiction. Animation writers working under Local 839 agreements receive different residuals, creative rights, and minimum rates than WGA-covered live-action writers. This creates meaningful compensation and career structure differences between writing for animation versus writing for live-action, and writers who work across both formats need to understand how each guild's agreement affects their compensation.

Similarly, animation directors covered by Local 839 have different agreements than DGA-covered live-action directors, with implications for feature directing credits, residuals, and creative rights.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For producers working on animated productions, understanding Local 839's jurisdiction -- which studios are signatory, which roles are covered, and how the agreement differs from live-action union contracts -- is essential budget and staffing planning. The animation industry's concentrated geography (primarily Los Angeles) means Local 839's agreements govern most professional animation production in the US.

For animation artists, Local 839 provides health and pension benefits, minimum rate protections, and professional community through its education programs and advocacy activity within the broader IATSE structure.

See Also

For the broader IATSE structure within which Local 839 operates, see IATSE in this directory. For how animation writing credits and residuals compare to live-action, see Writers Guild of America, West in this directory.