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Mass meeting of VFX workers says industry needs fixing

From BECTU's website :

A mass meeting of VFX workers earlier this week (Wednesday 13 January) showed how deeply staff feel about staff welfare and called on the industry to correct its shortcomings.

Close to 400 people attended the huge meeting at Regent Hall, Oxford Street. That's right, four hundred people. But whilst the evening was cold and wet, the mood of the meeting was anything but.

VFX workers are a remarkable bunch: characterful, patient and kind. Those at the meeting were probably representative of every continent, a factor also reflected in BECTU's growing VFX branch which has to be the most international in the union. Why so? Because London is the place to develop a career in VFX with 50 per cent of the world's blockbuster VFX capacity located in the capital.

Read more here!

If you've been waiting to join the VFX Union, NOW is the time!

400 VFX professionals attend union meeting!

Over 400 people who work in Londons Visual Effects industry attended a meeting set up by BECTU and its members. There were talks by representatives of BECTU and vfx union members about how unionisation can help not only the people who work in VFX, but also the facilities and the industry as a whole.Discussions centered around the recent bid for recognition by the Compositing department at MPC, the new bid for recognition by the Animation department at Framestore and the goal of total unionisation of the Visual Effects industry here in London and around the world.By the end of the evening we had an astonishing 100 new members join the VFX branch of BECTU! One BECTU representative said that this one union meeting smashed their previous record of 51 new members that BECTU has ever achieved from a single event!Come join us today at our usual Thursday VFX Lunch Meet in the food court at the Plaza, Oxford Street, W1 from 1:00-2:00. We've got a lot to celebrate and talk about!

Feedback on the union from someone who's worked in vfx

Please enjoy this guest blogpost from Jason Mayer, an executive board member for The Animation Guild, Local 839 in Los Angeles and an fx artist working at DreamWorks Animation.

What? I Got a Job!

I began my film VFX career in my mid 20's. I had a BFA and an MFA and a six figure student loan. On my first feature film credit, I worked about 65 to 90 hours a week with an hourly salary only slightly greater than what I had been making at Best Buy. LA rents were double and I had to live on couches for a few months before settling into a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 people. I had no medical or dental insurance, 0 sick days, 0 vacation days, and 0 retirement contributions. That first feature film grossed over half a billion and won the BAFTA for VFX.

Going Union.

After almost 2 years, I left VFX behind and moved to an animation studio covered by IATSE's Local 839 Union. I was so ill prepared for the increased quality of life standards, I negotiated to receive the union minimum for my job classification. It was still a huge salary increase, so I was happy. I will admit being highly skeptical of being forced to join a union for a job, the initiation fees were a significant amount of money to me at the time.I turned 30, got married, began a family, and bought a house. Health insurance and paid time off became much more important to me and so the union began to return value. I also began to notice other protections, especially with overtime that would help curb against late changing production schedule decisions. For instance, if you are asked to come in on a 6th day(Saturday) they would have to pay you for a minimum of 4 hours, so no being expected to stop by and monitor weekend renders. Also you were limited to 14 actual hours from starting work in a day before getting doubletime pay, so no weird hours with long unpaid midday breaks. Doubletime kicked in sooner on the 6th and 7th days.As I approached 40, planning for the future became more important, retirement, kids college, investments. I was pleasantly surprised when I began digging into the pension and retirement planning aspects of the union benefits. After 5 years, I had vested in a monthly retirement benefit for myself with survivorship of my spouse. There was also a 2nd pension which was approaching a six figure lump sum for my 11 years of participation in the union. I still look forward to qualifying for lifetime secondary health care for me and my wife at 15 years, and early retirement without penalty on my monthly benefit. These are all benefits fully funded by studio contributions with nothing out of my pocket as a result of the union agreements.

But Won't The Studios Hate Me?

The Union is not an adversarial entity to a studio. There is some friction at times, but there is also a clear grievance and arbitration route for those frictions. The friction is also very infrequent, most of the time the union and studio just coexist. Ultimately they are working towards related goals, the studio wants the most productivity out of their employees to maximize profits and the union wants its members to be happy. Employees work best and are most focused when they know they have stability, good health care and a future. Working at their best insures higher productivity and better morale which makes it easier to recruit top talent. More top talent leads to even more productivity and potentially better results. All these things help the bottom line. There are many very successful non-union companies that take this worker happiness philosophy in to account with their compensation packages like Facebook, Netflix or Google to name a few. A union forces the quality of life increases to employees which can help increase happiness and productivity.

But Your Union is Only Animation.

Local 839 has about 1/4 to 1/3 of it's membership in roles that directly overlap with VFX jobs, compositing, character animation, cloth/hair, fx, modeling, texture painting, lighting, etc. Having experienced the increase in quality of life a union brings, it can be a tough sell for those artists and technicians to return or move to a non-union VFX job. Having a global union community would help companies recruit for talent that they wouldn't normally have access to. I would personally enjoy returning to do some live action fx work, but even if I were paid far more than my current salary, the union benefits, and quality of life would make it an almost unworkable option.

So If You Only Want to Read One Part Of This.

The Animation Guild (local 839) has been around for over 50 years and has had high and low points. I think we are currently in a high point, membership is still growing to an all time high and feature and television animation production in LA is still strong despite global competition and attempts at outsourcing. The problem an established organization like this faces in the good times is apathy of its membership. The protections the union provides helps its members the most through the bad times, but unless you have the good times to give you leverage and a vitalized membership, you can't negotiate for those protections. We already have a contract in place, creating a new one is going to be challenging for you. It will not just form on its own. A union is like any organization, it can only be as strong as its members. I would urge you to take your chance now while you have momentum and there are lots of jobs currently available in your area. If the industry takes a downturn, unionizing will be near impossible to do until the industry comes back up. Keep in mind, these productions can not be made without you. The artistry and technical prowess you contribute is a valuable resource and there are not any reasons you shouldn't have a happy and healthy life pursuing it.

Good Luck!

Jason Mayer

BIG LONDON VFX MEETING

WED 13 JAN

It’s selling out! Register to ensure your place (free) bit.ly/unionise 

MPC argument against unionisation no. 5

MPC says: 'A union could mean that just 40% of the workers can decide the fate of everyone else'

This is either a misunderstanding of how union recognition works, or is a deliberate attempt to put workers off of unionisation by spreading misinformation about it. Don’t just take our word for it, feel free to check up on any of these facts yourself (this page by the UK government confirms it, as does the UK government’s full PDF guide to recognition). Let’s take a simplified look at how membership numbers affect a recognition bid.Once a recognition bid has started, checks are made at several points throughout the process to make sure that the union still has enough support for the bid to continue. If at any point the numbers aren’t high enough, then the bid ends immediately and recognition is refused. The required membership level gets higher with each check as the bid develops:

1. For a bid to start, the union only needs 10% of the chosen department to be members.
   Note: 10% is only a minimum. A recognition bid requires a union to commit significant time and resources, and are therefore not started lightly. It would be highly foolish for a union to start a bid with a membership level as low as 10%, and in practice most unions – including BECTU – will insist on a much higher and fairer membership level before they’ll even consider launching a recognition bid.
2. Halfway through the recognition process, in order for the bid to proceed to the CAC, the union needs to show that a majority of workers in the chosen department “would be likely to favour union recognition”. For it to be able to do this, the union will either need at least 40% of the department to be members, or it’ll need some other demonstration of support (like a petition signed by the majority of the department for example).
3. In the final stages of a bid, one last membership check is made. If the union’s membership includes over 50% of the chosen department, then recognition is granted immediately. Otherwise, if the union has 40%-50% of the chosen department, then a ballot is held – and recognition is only granted if over 50% of those who vote in the ballot are in favour of recognition. The vote is ruled to be invalid if less than 40% of the department as a whole took part. This is a higher standard than UK elections, where in 2015 the conservatives won a majority with 37% of the vote , and where no required minimum turnout rule exists at all (in 1998 turnout in one local election was just 28.8%).

So as you can see, this worry has no basis. Recognition bids are hard – deliberately so. It would be very, very difficult for a bid to be successful if only 40% of the department supported it. The only way this could happen is if either (1) the company chose to immediately grant voluntary recognition in step 1 without checking via ACAS that the union had enough support, or (2) if most of those in the department against recognition for some reason decided not to vote.If a VFX company is genuinely concerned about “40% of the workers deciding the fate of everyone else”, then we would invite them to talk to BECTU. BECTU would be happy to correct any misconceptions they might have about recognition. BECTU can also give the company a rough anonymised idea of membership level in initial talks via a third party such ACAS to assure them that the membership level is high enough. From the conversations we’ve had with VFX workers and the feedback we’ve had so far, we can safely predict that it is a lot more than “just 40%” of our departments that want to see a positive change in the VFX industry!…- See more at: http://vfxforum.org/faq/#what_arguments_has_mpc_given_against_unionisation_so_far

MPC argument against unionisation no. 4

MPC says: 'For things to get fairer for everyone, seniors, leads and supes will have to accept a pay cut.'

Again, not true – this is an attempt to turn different workers against each other. Our response to this is exactly the same as the response that we gave for “pay-banding” and “the pit is not bottomless”:

• Members get to vote on any proposed agreement that changes how pay or other key parts of our working conditions are run. If enough members are unhappy with a proposed agreement, then it will be rejected and it simply won’t come into force. If a new agreement was voted in by members, then it would be because a majority were unhappy with the old agreement, and a new agreement was therefore necessary anyway. No agreement will come into force without the members’ approval.
• It’s not in a union’s interest to push a company out of business or to make it less efficient than competitors – workers would lose jobs, and the union will lose members. Remember that unions make their workforces more efficient, not less`.

It’s impossible to say with any certainty what exact terms will come out of negotiations between BECTU and a VFX company if a recognition bid is successful. The question that workers at MPC should be asking themselves right now is not “What will the results be for me financially?”, but rather “Are we being treated fairly by our employers right now, and if not, would we like a union to work on our behalf to try to improve the situation?”- See more at: http://vfxforum.org/faq/#what_arguments_has_mpc_given_against_unionisation_so_far 

 BIG LONDON VFX MEETING

WED 13 JAN

It’s selling out! Register to ensure your place (free) bit.ly/unionise

MPC argument against unionisation no. 3

MPC says: 'If a union is recognised, then it's no longer possible for us to reward good workers with pay increases'

Again, not true. Just because a union has been recognised, it doesn’t mean that pay agreements with the workers suddenly magically change. The relationship between the workers, a recognised union and a company normally works like this:

1. The members at a company are unhappy. They speak to their elected union rep, and it becomes clear that a majority of them want to see some kind of change in their working conditions (like paid overtime for example).
2. The union rep brings this issue to the union’s attention, and asks the union to begin negotiations with the company about it.
3. The union negotiates with management at the company on behalf of its members, and tries to come up with a proposed agreement that gives the workers what they are asking for. If this isn’t possible, then the union will try to find an alternate proposed agreement that at least goes part-way.
4. If a proposed agreement was found, then the union presents this proposed agreement to their members, and the members vote on it. If enough members are in favour of it, then the agreement comes into force. If the members reject it or if no proposed agreement was reached, then the members decide what to do next – whether to ask BECTU to go for a different deal, or whether to give up on their demands, or whether to consider industrial action of some sort to put pressure the company (such as refusing to work excessive overtime).

So just because a department chose to unionise through BECTU, it doesn’t mean that pay banding would automatically have to come into effect. It would only come in if the members wanted it, an agreement was reached, and a majority of those members voted for it. If a department feels that they are already fairly rewarded for good work and that the system isn’t being abused, then they’d have no reason to ask for and vote in favour of a different pay structure that gets rid of it.Even if workers did choose to vote for pay banding or rate-cards at some point in the future, pay banding is more commonly implemented as a minimum anyway, i.e. “as a lead compositor, you should be paid at least £XXX per hour”. There’s no reason that a rate-card or pay-banding system should stop a company from paying talented individuals more than the minimum rate. If you don’t believe us, then have a look at a genuine BECTU rate card (PDF) for the camera branch, and see for yourself.Finally, remember that any future decision we make over pay-banding/rate cards is completely separate from the question of whether we should unionise or not. The question is not “What will the results be for me financially?”, but rather “Are we being treated fairly by our employers right now, and if not, would we like a union to work on our behalf to try to improve the situation?”- See more at: http://vfxforum.org/faq/#what_arguments_has_mpc_given_against_unionisation_so_far

 BIG LONDON VFX MEETING WED 13 JANIt’s selling out! Register to ensure your place (free) bit.ly/unionise 

MPC argument against unionisation no. 2

MPC says: 'If one department unionises, then we'll have to cut everyone else's pay by 20% to pay for it'

It’s hard to take this excuse as anything other than blackmail, and an attempt to turn VFX workers against each other.As we’ve discussed elsewhere, when a union is recognised it doesn’t somehow mean that every worker instantly gets suddenly becomes more expensive, or that everyone instantly gets paid overtime. When a union is first recognised, nothing changes at all beyond the fact that the company is now required to talk to the union, and must give access to the information they need to be able to do their job (profit margins, pay scales, employee lists, etc). If MPC chose to cut everyone else’s pay as a bizarre form of “collective punishment”, then there would be absolutely no reason for them to do this other than greed – they would be using the union as a convenient excuse to increase profits by reducing wages. If this came to pass and these other departments felt unhappy at being punished like this, then BECTU would welcome them with open arms, and would be happy to start fighting for their rights too.Remember, unionisation is a basic legal right that almost everyone in the UK has – why should MPC punish its workers simply for exercising their rights? What if instead of putting all this time and effort into fighting unionisation, MPC put the same time and effort into collaborating with the union to end worker exploitation and excessive overtime instead?- See more at: http://vfxforum.org/faq/#what_arguments_has_mpc_given_against_unionisation_so_far

 BIG LONDON VFX MEETINGWED 13 JANIt’s selling out! Register to ensure your place (free) bit.ly/unionise

MPC argument against unionisation no. 1

MPC says: 'The pot is not bottomless - if VFX workers want paid overtime/sick pay/job security/etc, then something's got to give'

Naturally – this is not an unreasonable position for a company to take. BECTU is being guided by its members, and we recognise that the VFX industry is a financially challenging environment, and that the UK VFX companies don’t have endless resources. If we unionise, then of course it doesn’t mean that every single VFX worker’s wishes will somehow instantly be granted. Equally though, just because the VFX companies have limited money, it doesn’t mean that it’s somehow completely impossible for them to improve how they treat their workers. Nor does it mean that a recognised union would somehow instantly put the VFX companies out of business.Let’s be completely clear: we’re not unionising because we’re trying to squeeze more money out of the VFX companies. We’re not unionising because we want to pick a fight. We’re not unionising because of some unrealistic ideology either. We’re unionising because of very serious and very practical concerns about how people are being treated. We feel that the way that the VFX industry is treating its people is not right, is not sustainable, and needs to change if the UK VFX industry is to keep the talent it needs to survive. Having coordinators block exits to prevent workers from leaving on time is not a reasonable way for MPC to treat its workers – ever.If the union’s members started pushing for something unreasonable (like making all their salaries 100x larger), then the union can look at the company’s books and will tell its members that this is completely unrealistic, before suggesting a more reasonable goal. If a VFX company ends up shrinking or going out of business because of a union, then that hurts the union too, because it loses members and membership fees. No one wants to see unionisation hurt the VFX industry, especially not BECTU.A union also doesn’t arbitrarily decide on its own how much workers get paid – the union negotiates with the company and they come to a common agreement. If a VFX company could convincingly show that it couldn’t afford to pay for things like overtime, then BECTU would listen and would respect that. However, in the last 3 years of negotiations with BECTU, none of the VFX companies have yet made such a case. We think that a well-rested and fairly treated workforce would be significantly more efficient than a workforce that’s tired, overworked and demoralised – and this is something that should be taken into account before blindly suggesting that ideas such as paid-overtime simply aren’t affordable.Even if a VFX company couldn’t afford to pay for everything its members were asking for, there are still other ways of tackling the issues that we’ve been raising. It might involve making changes to bidding and how time is estimated, for example. It might involve developing a stricter company policy on worker exploitation, and punishing productions or supervisors that breach these rules. It might involve changing development priorities, so that the company focuses on improvements to remove inefficient workflows. It might involve negotiating different terms with the Hollywood studios, so that the financial health of the VFX industry can improve. A union can help with all of these these things, as it has helped in other parts of the film industry.Finally, we would caution any company that makes this excuse. VFX workers are a smart bunch, and are quite capable of doing research using publicly available resources to see through bad excuses. Anyone can search the UK Companies House website to see that MPC made £11.6 million in profit in 2014, for example (PDF, page 8). Anyone can find articles proclaiming that 2015 was a record financial year for the film industry as a whole, with total box office profits in excess of $11 billion worldwide. If the UK VFX companies truly cannot afford to treat their people reasonably despite the fact that they’re part of the most profitable movies in the film industry, then maybe it’s time for them to ask themselves why and to take steps to improve the situation.- See more at: http://vfxforum.org/faq/#what_arguments_has_mpc_given_against_unionisation_so_far

 BIG LONDON VFX MEETING WED 13 JANIt’s selling out! Register to ensure your place (free) bit.ly/unionise

First VFX Lunch Meet of 2016!

Hope you've all had some wonderful holiday fun and relaxation. We here at the VFX Forum can proudly announce that the Thursday VFX Lunch Meet is back on after our little break for seasonal festivities. Please come and join us - so much to catch up on!Thursday 7th January1:00 - 2:00 pm@ The Plaza, Oxford StreetThere are some really exciting things happening soon! Come find out more about the VFX Union and hear all about the big meeting to unionise VFX London for 2016 coming up on Wednesday the 13th. Don't miss out!

2016 is going to be an amazing year!

Look for the green flag!

New Year, New VFX Industry!

What a year! 2015 saw the comp department at MPC here in London unionise and 2016 promises many more exciting developments for the VFX Union - starting with the big meeting next Wednesday the 13th of January!

Unionise VFX London 2016!BECTU is unionising the UK VFX industry. We aim to tackle the scandal of unpaid overtime and tortuous long hours in the VFX Sector.Come along and hear what's happening and how you can be part of this campaign.

WHEN

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 from 19:00 to 21:00 (GMT) 

WHERE

Regent Hall - 275 Oxford Street London W1C 2DJ GB

It's a free event and if you work in VFX in London, then this is an essential event for you and your colleagues. Click on this link to register - see you there! You know how you've been waiting for something to happen? Well... something's happening! 

Happy Holidays! It's the Thursday VFX Lunch Meet!

Come along to the Plaza, Oxford Street from 1:00-2:00pm today for our weekly networking hang out! This will be the last one for 2015 but we'll be back stronger than ever with some exciting stuff for the new year on Thursday the 7th.Thursday VFX Lunch Meetin the food court at The Plaza, Oxford Streetfrom 1:00-2:00pmVisual effects BECTU members and people who work in visual effect are meeting up every Thursday to talk about the union and issues that are interesting to people who work in the VFX here in London. This is a chance to change our industry from the ground up by connecting with like minded people and creating our own grassroots movement.Look for the green flag!

Do supervisors / producers qualify for union membership?

Absolutely! Anyone in the UK VFX industry is welcome to join us, regardless of nationality, company or job. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a runner, a supervisor, a producer, an artist or a coder – if you agree with us, then we’d love to have you with us. As long as you work in the UK VFX industry and you want to see an improvement in how the industry treats its people, then that’s all that matters!See more Frequently Asked Questions 

Thursday VFX Lunch Meet today!

The comp department at MPC has unionised and this is an historic moment for the visual effects industry!

This is not about one department in one company. We want all the departments at MPC to join comp and unionise. We want all of the vfx workers at all of the facilities in London to join with us.

Now is the time for action! Someone isn’t going to do this for you. We all need to make it happen together! Join the union now!

A great place to start is our weekly meet up every Thursday lunchtime.

Thursday VFX Lunch Meet

in the food court at The Plaza, Oxford Street

from 1:00-2:00pm

Look for the green flag!

Come along to talk about what’s happening with unionisation at MPC, all the issues we want to address and how you can get involved. Last week we had over 100 people show up and it was truly amazing! The energy and enthusiasm in London for this is off the charts! Everybody who works in Visual Effects in London is up for this. All you have to do is join the union and start making it happen now!

Then and Now

I like the idea, but I don't want to make a fuss - do I really have to join?

Firstly, remember that no one’s asking you to stick your neck out personally, as BECTU’s membership is completely confidential. Talks with the VFX companies are handled by experienced BECTU negotiators – not by individual VFX artists.Secondly, there’s no middle ground here – either you join us or you don’t. Unfortunately, sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing is effectively the same as saying that you’re happy with things as they are.Individuals have been trying to get the VFX studios to fix excessive overtime for years now. The VFX studios have had many opportunities to tackle the problem, but their efforts have been superficial at best, and non-existent at worst. At the end of the day, every VFX company is a business and is trying to make money – and overtime is “free money” in the form of work that they don’t have to pay for. It’s unrealistic to expect the VFX companies to change their behaviour unless something gives them a decent financial reason to do so. This is our one chance to do exactly that – but only if we choose to.To get union recognition, all we need to do is to show the CAC that a certain percentage of a company or a department supports us and wants to see overtime reduced. If we get the number of members we need, we can fix things in that company or department. If we don’t, we can’t.If you disagree with us for some reason, then we can respect that (although we’d love to know why – please consider leaving a comment on this site or getting in touch!). But if you do support us, even privately, then please sign up. It takes just a few minutes, and costs very little compared for the potential reward of getting normal working hours in the VFX industry. If our bid for recognition doesn’t work then you can always cancel your membership. But remember – doing nothing and waiting for others to sort it out is the same as saying you’re happy with things as they are. This is our best and only shot at this.

What are your evenings and weekends worth to you?

From the vfxforum.org Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don't work much VFX overtime?

Then you’re very lucky! However, remember that this is issue is not just about you – it’s about your friends and colleagues too.How many of them have you seen regularly working late without pay? How often do you see them queueing up for the company dinner in your office each evening, especially around a deadline? Do you feel comfortable about that? Try asking some of them about the comments from the MPC Variety article or the VFX overtime survey – how many of them are genuinely happy about working conditions in the VFX industry right now?You don’t need to be working excessive VFX overtime yourself to agree with us that the industry needs to change.

See also:

• http://effectscorner.blogspot.ca/2015/03/visual-effects-and-overtime.html
• http://variety.com/2014/film/news/moving-picture-co-finds-valuing-artists-is-the-best-effect-1201346561/

From the vfxforum.org Frequently Asked Questions

New game. New rules.

Welcome to the Brave New World of Visual Effects! The compositing department at MPC has unionised and the global response has been amazing! The Hollywood Reporter covered the story and now fxguide has a post up on their website as well. Twitter has gone bananas on the subject and Reddit is doing that thing that Reddit does!But this is not just about the comp department at MPC. This is about ALL the departments at MPC. This is about ALL the Visual Effects facilities in London. This is about the whole of the Visual Effects Industry around the world!So many people in vfx tell me that they'd like to have a union, but they're waiting for something to happen. Well, guess what? Something's happening!You know that train you've been waiting for? It's pulling out of the station right now! Jump on board!To all VFX Union members: you need to start talking to your coworkers around you and get them to join and you need to get started now! No one else is going to do this for us. Stop sitting around waiting for someone to do something. YOU need to do something! We ALL need to take action now to make this happen! How do members get non members at work to join the vfx union?Simple. Stop and chat with your fellow vfx workers. Talk with them one on one.Ask them if they've heard about the union. Ask them if they've thought about joining. Most of your coworkers will say yes to both of those questions. They might even tell you they're already a member! Result! Now you've got someone to help recruit more members!It's all about talking and connecting with people. It's so easy to get a bit isolated in this industry and lost in our own little worlds, but I've found almost everyone will really open up when the subject of the vfx union is raised. It's something people in vfx like talking about.Engage with them on the subject. Tell them about vfxforum.org and our terrific set of FAQ's where they'll find an answer to almost any question they can think of. Tell them your opinions on the industry and unionisation but more importantly, listen to theirs. You will almost always find that they agree to join in that first conversation, but don't stop there - this is just the beginning of the process!Go back to them the next day and ask them if they've signed up. Most likely they didn't but don't despair and don't give up. Answer any questions they might have or just pick up the chat where you left off yesterday. Do it again the next day. Repeat these visits until they tell you they have signed up. Usually no fewer than 3-4 return chats in my experience. Often many more. Seriously... Don't give up.Don't get frustrated. Everybody WANTS to join, but there is a journey from wanting to join to actually joining that you need to guide them on. Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) are very real in our industry and for many, it is not a trivial thing to break away from it. Short term contracts, demands for overtime, constantly moving from one facility to the next - even moving countries to chase the work has left most of us feeling vulnerable and insecure about our livelihood. Everybody has bills, families, mortgages to worry about and nobody want to put that at risk. It shouldn't be, but joining the union can be a scary prospect for many of us. For people in our industry, the FUD is a very, very real thing. Everybody who hesitates joining will give may different reasons, but it all boils down to FUD. The good news is, virtually everyone agrees with the idea of a union and nobody wants FUD to rule their lives. Perseverance. That's what it takes. They won't come to you, so you must go to them and in time, they will eventually sign up. They always do because it's what they want. They told you that in your first conversation with them!Good luck everyone!

Unionisation at MPC!

BREAKING NEWS! The VFX branch of BECTU has given formal notice to MPC's management that the Compositing Department at MPC are unionising, and will be applying for union recognition.Yesterday (2nd Dec. 2015), MPC responded to this, and called the entire comp department (over 130 people) into a short meeting. They announced that the company had received a petition from BECTU for recognition of the union for the comp department. They announced that they will begin negotiations with BECTU, and that they intend to fight this bid for union recognition. They took no questions, and made no attempt to justify the excessive unpaid overtime in the VFX industry, or other issues that have made this recognition bid necessary.What does this mean? It means IT’S ON! Yes – this is really happening!Whilst MPC's announcement that they intend to dispute the bid is somewhat disappointing, it's no surprise either, and we were prepared for this. It came across as more of a delaying tactic than as a legitimate issue. We’ve got a fight ahead of us – but it’s a fight the union has fought before, and can win again. In gathering so many VFX workers and making this something that the VFX companies can no longer ignore, we've already achieved a major victory!We need you! To all VFX workers here in London that have been quietly hoping for something to happen, well… THIS IS IT! Now is the time to get on board! This is our best and only chance at finally getting the change our industry so badly needs.We've been overwhelmed with hundreds of responses to our VFX petition, from every corner of the UK VFX industry. Now is the time to act.We would like to invite all VFX workers in all departments at MPC and other VFX companies in London to get on board. If you want to see change in our industry and you're interested in getting something going at your company or your department, then get in touch - we'd love to help.This is our moment! This is what we’ve all been working for! Join now and help finally change the industry for the better.

Come to the Thursday VFX Lunchtime Meetup today, 1:00-2:00 in the food court at The Plaza, Oxford Street to find out more! We've got lots to talk about! Look for the green flag!

Watch this space and @VFXUnionUK on Twitter for all the latest updates on this exciting and rapidly developing situation!

Thursday VFX Lunch Meet - We have lift off!

Have you been sitting the whole vfx union thing out until you can see something happening?, Well, the wait is over! Incredibly exciting, paradigm shifting things are happening here in London's VFX Industry! Come to the Thursday VFX Lunch Meet to find out all about it and how YOU can become a part of it!

The VFX Lunch Meet

every Thursday @

The Plaza 120 Oxford Street, W1D 1LT

in the food court from 1:00-2:00!

Visual effects BECTU members and people who work in visual effect are meeting up every Thursday to talk about the union and issues that are interesting to people who work in the VFX here in London. This is a chance to change our industry from the ground up by connecting with like minded people and creating our own grassroots movement. 

Please come and join us every Thursday from 1:00-2:00. All are welcome.

Look for the green flag!

Yes indeed... It's all kicking off!