Warner Bros. Animation workers launch unionization effort, THR says

Production workers at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, have filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday and simultaneously requested voluntary recognition from management at the Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries, The Hollywood Reporter’s Katie Kilkenny reports. The group, which includes 66 Warner Bros. Animation staffers and 22 Cartoon Network staffers, includes workers in roles like production manager, digital production assistant, IT technician, production coordinator, production assistant, design production coordinator, assistant production manager and senior assistant production manager. “Although many might not think it, production is a specialized skill; we might not be artists or writers, but what we bring to the table goes beyond traditional creativity and gets content on the air,” Warner Bros. Animation production manager Hannah Ferenc said in a statement about the organization effort. “Having lived through the existing state of the animation industry for the past seven years, I want to make sure that not only our current workers, but all those who choose to join us in the future, can feel secure in following their passion by earning livable wages and being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”