Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT VFX workers who have opened up about their experience in working on Marvel Cinematic Universe productions are voting in favor of unionizing. Over the past year, Marvel Studios has come under much scrutiny for the quality of its VFX in various projects. At the same time, numerous VFX artists have come forward with stories about their problematic MCU experiences where they were overworked and pushed to meet impossible deadlines.
Now, Vulture reports that VFX workers who have worked on Marvel Studios productions are looking to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees . A group of "more than 50 on-set employees" filed a petition to have IATSE host an election as early as August 21; this would allow the artists to be represented by the labor union with the National Labor Relations Board.
For almost half a century, workers in the visual-effects industry have been denied the same protections and benefits their coworkers and crewmates have relied upon since the beginning of the Hollywood film industry. This is a historic first step for VFX workers coming together with a collective voice demanding respect for what we do.
How Marvel VFX Workers Unionizing Would Change The Filmmaking Industry If the VFX workers unionize, it marks the beginning of yet another wake-up call for Hollywood executives, confirming that the working conditions need to improve drastically for everyone who is working on various TV shows and movies. The stories about how VFX artists have had to work extremely long hours for some recent MCU productions have resulted in the final product shown on screen being received with mixed responses.
Time will tell after August 21 how the VFX artists unionizing will affect Marvel Studios' Phases 5 and 6 projects, with many of them not having even started filming yet. Without a doubt, though, this is the direction that Hollywood needs to go in, as the working standards have been problematic for far too long. For now, the world will have to wait and see what becomes of the MCU VFX workers properly unionizing.