Marvel VFX artist union and L.A. city worker strike latest in 'hot labor summer'

Christopher Wilson
Los Angeles city employees
Los Angeles city employees picket outside City Hall on Tuesday. (David Crane/Orange County Register via AP) (AP)

A major strike in Los Angeles and Marvel Studios visual effects artists moving toward unionization are the latest actions in what appears to be a reenergized labor movement in the U.S.

California has been the epicenter of labor activity, with union leaders coining the term “hot labor summer.” Writers and actors, both striking for the first time in more than half a century, and picketing hotel workers were joined by thousands of members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) walking off the job.

Another shutdown in L.A.

Los Angeles city employees with SEIU Local 721 picket outside of City Hall in Los Angeles
Thousands of Los Angeles city employees, including sanitation workers, engineers and traffic officers, walked off the job for a 24-hour strike, alleging unfair labor practices. (David Crane/Orange County Register via AP) (AP)

On Tuesday, 11,000 municipal workers in Los Angeles launched a 24-hour strike to protest what they called bad-faith negotiating by the city. SEIU Local 721’s contract was agreed to last year and runs through the end of 2023, but workers say the city has not considered hundreds of proposals as it had promised. City mechanics, sanitation workers, lifeguards, traffic officers and airport personnel were among those striking.

“Despite repeated attempts by city workers to engage management in a fair bargaining process, the city has flat-out refused to honor previous agreements at the bargaining table, prompting workers to file Unfair Labor Practice charges with the City of Los Angeles Employee Relations Board,” the union said in a statement.

Picketing began early Tuesday, including at Los Angeles International Airport and City Hall. Mayor Karen Bass said the city was not going to shut down but acknowledged that there would be delays in service, adding, "The city will always be available to make progress with SEIU 721, and we will continue bargaining in good faith."

Thousands of hotel workers in the city have already been staging rolling walkouts over the last month after their contract expired at the end of June. On Monday, the union held a protest over claims of hotel security being violent with picketers.

Up the coast, 4,500 city employees in San Jose voted to authorize a three-day strike later this month, citing concerns similar to those of the SEIU members in Los Angeles. The San Jose municipal workers have been working without a contract since June after months of failed negotiations.

Marvel workers announce intent to unionize

Tony Chambers, head of theatrical distribution for Disney Entertainment
Tony Chambers, head of theatrical distribution for Disney Entertainment, addresses a National Association of Theatre Owners convention in Las Vegas, April 23. (Chris Pizzello/AP) (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

While the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is dealing with strikes from writers and actors, it is also witnessing the rise of a new union of visual effects artists at Marvel Studios. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)announced Monday that a supermajority of Marvel’s 52 VFX crew members had petitioned to be represented by the union.

“For almost half a century, workers in the visual effects industry have been denied the same protections and benefits their co-workers and crew mates have relied upon since the beginning of the Hollywood film industry,” said Mark Patch, VFX organizer for IATSE, in a statement. “This is a historic first step for VFX workers coming together with a collective voice demanding respect for the work we do.”

Visual effects artists have been outliers in Hollywood in their lack of union representation, which has led to complaints about being taken advantage of for long hours and short wages. The next step will be a union election, which New York Magazine reports could be held as soon as Aug. 21.

IATSE represents a wide range of more than 150,000 workers, including costumers, makeup artists, camera operators and set builders. The union was on the brink of a strike in in late 2021 that was averted at the last minute.

Hollywood still at an impasse

Members of the Hollywood actors SAG-AFTRA union walk a picket line with screenwriters outside of Paramount Studios
Members of the SAG-AFTRA union join a picket line with screenwriters outside Paramount Studios on July 14, the first day of the actors' strike. (David McNew/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

As for the current shutdown in Hollywood, there’s little sign it will end, as negotiations have not resumed. The demands of the unions are centered around residual payments from streaming services and concerns over the studios using artificial intelligence to replace human writers and actors.

Despite having more high-profile members than other unions, the writers' and actors' guilds have stressed solidarity across different industries since launching their strikes.

When SAG launched its strike last month, union president Fran Drescher said, “The eyes of labor are upon us.”

“It’s very important that everybody appreciate that we’re not just sticking up for ourselves, but we’re sticking up for everybody else, because it is a slippery slope into a very dangerous time, and a real dystopia if big business, corporations, think that they can put human beings out of work and replace them with artificial intelligence. It’s dangerous, and it’s without thinking or conscience or caring,” Drescher said.

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation, said there was “staggering solidarity” across the picket lines.

“I think it’s in levels we haven’t seen before. If you look at the difference between what a fast food worker makes and a writer makes, it’s smaller than the difference between what either of them makes and their CEO,” Fletcher told the outlet CalMatters this week.

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