The Canadian Animation Guild
WE ARE FORMING A UNION AT ICON!
Who We Are
We represent the hundreds of workers who are coming together and saying “YES” to forming a union at our workplace, ICON Creative Studios. We know that when we work together, we can secure the working conditions we enjoy and prioritize issues to make improvements.
Together, we are confident that we will be able to not only make change large enough to affect ICON for the better, but to affect our careers in the Vancouver animation for the better.
Now is the time to act. Whether you are on a work permit or a Canadian citizen, whether you are a junior or someone who has been working here for decades, we urge you to learn more about our unionization movement on this website and we thank you for your support in cementing longevity in our industry!
Things We Want to Change
Protection from sudden layoffs
Industry jobs have been scarce lately. We value our jobs as much as anyone who is currently working; however, some of us have moved countries to work at ICON and having contracts renewed last minute can take a toll on our work permits and/or our ability to plan our lives long-term.
Immigration assistance
ICON has a large population of international workers and oftentimes, we are the ones who are taken advantage of the most. Having work permits that rely on the company, we often put our work-life balance on the line just to make sure we can stay in Canada. A union can provide ample resources, such as free immigration advisory services, to workers on work permits and/or applying for permanent residency.
Clarity on overtime procedures
Oftentimes, when workers are not made aware of overtime laws, workers can get taken advantage of into working OT unpaid. We want our overtime procedures outlined with as much clarity as possible from what counts as overtime, how overtime is paid at 1.5x, and making sure our overtime is paid out by default. While time-in-lieu works well for some workers, we should be defaulting to the standard in BC which is being paid out.
Protection from generative A.I. and outsourcing
We want jobs to remain with ICON workers as much as possible. As it becomes more and more efficient to outsource as well as companies starting to move towards generative A.I., we want a say on how that will impact our careers.
Guaranteed annual wage increases
Living in Vancouver can be costly, and we want to make sure that we are able to make a living from doing the job we love to do. We love creating cartoons, but ensuring wages are increasing annually can help provide us with a long-lasting career.
Improvements to extended health benefits and gaining retirement benefits
Nobody should have to give up what they love to do because they are physically or mentally unable to go forward. A union provides security for the future in the form of efficient and extensive health benefits and retirement plans. Union members have the option to maintain these benefits even when they are not working at ICON.
Representation when things go wrong
When we have a problem, we won’t need to face it alone. We will have IATSE representation with us the entire way. IATSE is home to 180,000 entertainment and cultural workers across North America and has decades of experience representing animation workers.
How We Win
Forming a union is a legal process and there are steps that we have to follow in order to certify. The steps are a bit different in each province. In BC, workers form a union when 55% or more of the eligible workers in a workplace sign a union support card.
A union support card is a legal document which indicates your support for the union. These days, cards are usually sent and signed digitally. Signing a support card is 100% confidential and ICON will never find out which workers have signed cards. Most workers in non-management roles are eligible to sign a union card. Management means workers who can directly hire and fire others so we usually draw the line at Line Producers or Heads of Department; but everybody else, including directors, should sign!
You can get a support card in the following ways:
Talk to the worker who spoke to you about the union efforts at ICON! They will be able to send you a card.
Request a card confidentially through the “request a card” portion of this website. All forms filled here go directly to our union rep, Ming Li, who will be able to send you a card.
There is absolutely no way your employer will find out that you signed a support card. If you are feeling nervous to talk to any of your coworkers about your questions, email union rep Ming at jli@iatse.net who will be able to reach out to have a private conversation. Signing the card does not impact your work permit or your permanent residency application.
More information is available on our FAQ document.
Request a Support Card!
Do you want to support the union effort at ICON?
Request a card using this confidential form.
Card requests go to our union rep Ming Li and are completely confidential.
Anyone working at ICON can support and the employer never knows who signed a card.
FAQs
Union Myths
Upcoming Events
We would love to meet everyone that we are talking to! These events will also be a great way to talk to our union reps in person with your questions, to meet new people at the workplace, and some are open to other workers in unionized studios such as WildBrain and Titmouse. Get out here and come chill with us!
