Huge Turnout For Animation Solidarity Rally Ahead Of AMPTP Negotiations (VIDEO)

A huge mass of animation workers, cartoon fans, and union members from other crafts gathering in the IATSE Local 80 parking lot in Burbank on a sweltering hot Saturday afternoon for the Stand With Animation Rally. The historic gathering drew a crowd that appeared to be well over one thousand people, making it possibly the largest-ever labor-related gathering in animation history.

This afternoon’s rally was intended as a show of strength by animation workers, represented by The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, who’ll begin facing off Monday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to negotiate a new Master Collective Bargaining Agreement. The event was hosted by The Mitchells vs. the Machinesdirector Michael Rianda, who introduced a large group of speakers that included Burbank mayor Nick Schultz, Animation Guild president Jeanette Moreno King, actor Adam Conover, and top animation talent including Rebecca Sugar, Genndy Tartakovsky, Alex Hirsch, Peter Ramsey, Shion Takeuchi, …