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 at signatory studios in the United States. Founded in 1952, Local 839 covers directors, writers, story artists, animators, layout artists, background painters, character designers, visual development artists, compositors, and production staff. The Guild's Master Collective Bargaining Agreement runs from August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2027, covering studios including Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network, and independent studios such as Atomic Cartoons and Rough Draft.

Leadership and Notable Members

President Danny Lin, a storyboard artist and director who has worked on Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, We Bare Bears, and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, was elected in December 2025, succeeding Jeanette Moreno King, who served as president for six years and now serves as Secretary. The full officer slate includes Vice President Roger Oda, Business Representative Steve Kaplan, Treasurer Paula Spence, Secretary Jeanette Moreno King, and Sergeant-at-Arms David DePasquale. All elected leaders serve three-year terms.

The Animation Guild represents over 6,000 members across the United States. Its membership includes the animators, storyboard artists, character designers, background painters, layout artists, and production staff who create animated content at major studios. The Guild's jurisdiction covers the full animation pipeline, from visual development through final compositing. Notable members work on productions at Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network, and independent studios.

The Guild has been at the center of industry debates about AI's impact on animation work. A study by the Animation Guild projected that more than 118,000 animation jobs in the US could be affected by generative AI by 2026, through consolidation, replacement, or elimination. The Guild has organized around the Stand With Animation movement to address layoffs, AI threats, and working conditions.

Membership Costs and Financial Requirements

Joining Local 839 requires two financial obligations. The initiation fee equals two weeks of minimum scale wage in the job classification you are first hired into, calculated from the union's published wage table rather than your actual rate of pay. For example, a journey-level animator under the Master Agreement earns a minimum of $56.88 per hour ($2,275.20 weekly) during the second period (August 3, 2025 through August 1, 2026), making the initiation fee approximately $4,550.40. The parent union IATSE charges a one-time $100 registration fee, which is included in the initial balance rather than paid separately.

Quarterly dues are due on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Dues are assessed based on your last working assignment and job classification, not your current employment status. In March 2025, members approved a new three-year dues structure with rates increasing annually starting July 1, 2025. Members who stop working for a TAG signatory studio can request an Honorable Withdrawal, which suspends dues payments while maintaining the ability to participate in union activities.

The initiation fee can be paid through a no-interest payment plan arranged with the Guild's finance office. You are not an official member until the initiation fee is paid and the IATSE membership application is submitted and approved.

How Eligibility Actually Works in Practice

The Animation Guild's entry system differs from most IATSE locals because animation work is concentrated at signatory studios rather than dispatched through a hiring hall. Here is how membership works in practice:

The "get hired at a signatory studio" path. The most common path to TAG membership is being hired into a covered classification at a signatory studio. When you are hired at Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, or another signatory studio, the studio notifies the Guild, and you must join within a set period. The initiation fee is calculated as two weeks of minimum scale wage for your classification, which varies by role. You are not an official member until the initiation fee is paid and the IATSE membership application is submitted and approved.

Classification-based membership. TAG organizes membership by job classification, with each classification having its own wage scale, progression timeline (typically six-month steps from entry to journey level), and working conditions. Your classification is determined by the role you are hired into, not by your choice. If you move between classifications (for example, from storyboard artist to director), your classification and rate change accordingly.

The no-interest payment plan. The initiation fee can be paid through a no-interest payment plan arranged with the Guild's finance office, making the upfront cost manageable for new hires who may not have the full amount available.

Honorable Withdrawal. Members who stop working for a TAG signatory studio can request an Honorable Withdrawal, which suspends dues payments while maintaining the ability to participate in union activities. This is relevant for animation workers who move between signatory and non-signatory productions, or who experience gaps between projects.

Benefits Breakdown

TAG members receive benefits through the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans (MPIPHP), the same trust fund that covers other IATSE members. Benefits are funded by employer contributions negotiated in the Master Collective Bargaining Agreement, not by member dues.

Motion Picture Industry Health Plan. New members become eligible for health coverage after completing 600 hours of work in a qualifying period at a signatory studio (approximately 15 weeks of 40-hour work). Once eligibility is established, maintaining it requires 400 hours in each subsequent eligibility period. The plan uses a Bank of Hours system (capped at 450 hours) that allows members to bank excess hours toward future eligibility. Dependent coverage requires member-paid premiums. Coverage typically begins approximately six months after employment at a signatory studio starts, due to the qualifying period structure.

Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan. A defined benefit pension plan funded by employer contributions, providing a monthly retirement benefit based on credited contributions and years of service.

Individual Account Plan (IAP). An additional defined contribution retirement benefit funded by separate employer contributions.

Wage minimums and progression. The Master Agreement sets minimum hourly and weekly rates for each classification, with progression from entry level to journey level typically over six-month steps. A supervisor designated to oversee others in the same classification receives a key rate of 15% above the journey minimum. Daily employees receive 118.583% of the hourly rate (inclusive of vacation and holiday pay) as of January 1, 2025.

Creative rights and working conditions. The Master Agreement governs working conditions, overtime, turnaround, and credit determination for animation artists. Story artists and character designers hold particularly creative-facing classifications with sustained creative contribution comparable to art department staff on live-action productions.

Wage Minimums and Collective Bargaining

The 2024-2027 Master Agreement increased wage minimums by 4% effective August 3, 2025, with further increases scheduled for the third period beginning August 2, 2026. Specific minimum rates under the Master Agreement for the second period (August 3, 2025 through August 1, 2026) include:

A supervisor designated by the producer to oversee others in the same classification receives a key rate of 15% above the journey minimum. Daily employees receive 118.583% of the hourly rate (inclusive of vacation and holiday pay) as of January 1, 2025. Studios with separate agreements, including Warner Animation Group and Sony Animation, follow different wage increase schedules.

Covered Roles and Classifications

Local 839 organizes membership by job classification, with rates and working conditions varying by role and studio agreement. The covered classifications span the full animation pipeline: animators, background painters, layout artists, model designers, color designers, story artists, production board artists, and production staff. Each classification has its own wage scale, progression timeline (typically six-month steps from entry to journey level), and working conditions defined in the CBA.

Story artists and character designers hold particularly creative-facing classifications. Story artists develop the visual narrative through boards before animation begins, while character designers establish the visual identity of animated characters. Both roles involve sustained creative contribution comparable to art department staff on live-action productions.

Animation vs. Live-Action 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 differences between writing for animation and writing for live-action. Writers who work across both formats need to understand how each guild's agreement affects their pay, residuals, and credit.

Animation directors covered by Local 839 have separate agreements from DGA-covered live-action directors, with different implications for feature directing credits, residuals, and creative rights. These jurisdictional boundaries mean that a writer who pens both animated and live-action features operates under two entirely different compensation structures depending on the project.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For producers planning an animated production, understanding Local 839's jurisdiction is essential for budget and staffing. The key questions: Which studios are signatory? Which roles are covered? How does the agreement differ from live-action union contracts? The animation industry's concentrated geography in 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 through the IATSE Motion Picture Industry Health Plan and Pension Plan, minimum rate protections, and professional community through education programs and advocacy. Members can access the Guild's online payment system for dues and fees, and the Guild office (membership@tag839.org) handles classification disputes, dues reassessment requests, and contract questions.

The full wage scales for all classifications are published on the Animation Guild website at animationguild.org/tag-contracts-wages. The complete 2024-2027 Master CBA is also available there. Producers should consult these documents directly when budgeting a signatory production.

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. For budgeting union animation productions, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator to estimate labor costs across departments.