#pro-union

As a huge public figure with ties to these A-list celebrities and a history of being toxic pre-dating Hazbin Hotel, it'd be a huge deal. It's not just some rando on the Internet like YandereDev whom people will eventually forget. You know it's messed up that even other art professors are bringing up Viv as an example of what not to do as an artist.

Sorry if this is kind of rambly but I just want to share my thoughts and speculations after seeing posts about what's going on with the union and all that jazz.

I think people are blowing this way out of proportion.

The situation with Spindlehorse is actually not that big a thing in the realm of labor disputes and shit bosses. These are charges being brought to the Labor Relations Board for arbitration.

Basically, union employees of Spindlehorse went to The Animation Guild and said they experienced

8(a)(5) Their contracts being altered or otherwise not fulfilled.

This is an accusation that Spindlehorse is changing the terms of the contract with the union mid-contract without union approval. This is broad and ranges anywhere from pay agreements to employment status.

8(a)(3) Discharge

This is an extremely specific form of termination or refusal to hire that is classified under discrimination. In specific, discrimination against employees enacting their legal rights to unionize.

8(a)(3) Changes to terms and conditions of employment

If you notice the [8(a)(#)] those charges are specifically tied to anti-union activity by an employer. Basically this charge is an accusation of retaliation due to unionizing activity including discharge, pay-cuts, and punitive actions.

8(a)(1) Coercive statements

This is an accusation against Spindlehorse for either threatening employees with termination, shutting down the studio, or the promise of benefits like better pay on the condition of unionizing. Basically, threats for unionizing, promises if they don't.

8(a)(5) Refusal to Furnish Information

This is the accusation that Medrano and SpindleHorse are not properly engaging with the Union by not providing relevant information, required by law, for the union to adequately bargain. This includes Wages, Hours, and Working Conditions.

Going back to my statement about Medrano's legal strategy claiming that the information is privileged is literally the only defense to this claim.

What these collective charges do indicate is some kind of attempt to get away from Unionized labor. Which, if I were to speculate, does give ammunition to the rumors that SpindleRoo was specifically created as a means of avoiding unionization. And it's possible Medrano is seeking to partially close down SpindleHorse, at least as an animation company, to avoid paying animators fairly and providing better working conditions. And Medrano still is required to bargain with the union over the closure of SpindleHorse's animations wing of the studio.

Legally, she can close it, even for Anti-union reasons. But because of SpindleRoo, it can be seen as trying to discourage attempts at unionizing there in the future. Basically saying she is going to just keep opening new shell studios in other countries to avoid unions and fair labor laws.

Additionally, she cannot simply close it and walk away from the union, she is required to bargain with the union who will demand severance for every single animator she is letting go.

But that's only a theory. There has been no public announcement to my knowledge of SpindleHorse closing its animation studio yet. So that's speculation. Either way, there is undoubtedly retaliation and general shitty boss issues going on.

But please remember

This is not going to go to court. Not in the way you are thinking it will. These issues are always resolved behind closed doors and basically dealt with through mediation and court orders, not legal proceedings. It's basically the Union going to the Judge and saying "Make them talk to us". That's it. The judge is there just to force Spindlehorse to the table under threat of monetary fines.

This is not that big of a deal. This happens all the time, every day, with no fanfare. Medrano will simply be forced to bargain and usually requires some compensation. Sure, Spindlehorse will have a reputation hit but it will be very niche to the community and looking at her fans, that's not going to be an issue for her seeing as that is the pool she typically hires from regardless.

It's possible she may be hit financially with some significance, but that's debatable and these are usually resolved with back-pay, Reinstatement, and/or settlement. Most often in settlement.

There will be no huge documentary, the biggest this will get is sharing the fact that SpindleHorse is a terrible place to work and has a history of unfair labor practices for such a small company.

Maybe the employees involved will share their experiences as exposés when their NDAs run out. Who knows about that. But this is not a reflection on Indie as a whole, this is a reflection on Medrano and SpindleHorse. Plenty of other studios are paying their animators fairly and/or not discriminating or retaliating against them for Unionizing.

Ultimately all this says is that it is best for animators who value themselves and their labor to avoid working at Spindle.

For those who might not be aware, there's currently a movement fighting for the rights, benefits, and protections for artists and animators currently working in the entertainment industry! The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) is pushing negotiations for better treatment of artists, and I think we can all get behind that!

The movement's been gaining traction on twitter, with the group "Animation Workers Ignited" using animation and mascots/characters to spread awareness and information! An art trend has started with drawing their characters/mascots, and I wanted to be a part of it! So, here's my contribution!

Information can be found here! -AWorkersIgnited's Twitter -The Animation Guild (839)'s Twitter

The reason I'm so enthusiastic about analysis and breaking down ATSV and dialogue and stuff especially now is because it's one of the best ways to highlight and stress the work and experience of screenwriters, which is something super dear to me

for context, I work in film and live in New York, and I can say that the WGA strike is something very real and very tangible, everywhere in the city.

Writers are not the only ones affected. Family vendors that feed sets are out of work, PAs are out of work, Directors won't shoot without their writers and Assistant Directors won't come on without a director.

These CEOs are starving dozens of industries everywhere. Prop houses are even closing down.

It's really bizarre to work on these big wig sets, and then see your bosses picketing and protesting in Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. But they really are out there.

And they're still out there. Working class people who use to work 10+ hours a day, 5 days a week (or more).

All I'm really saying is please keep the WGA, the actors, and the film industry as a whole in your thoughts.

The film industry is like the culinary industry. These people are doing this work out of passion - not money - me included. They're doing this because they want their work protected and their name on credits. This is about rights and AI.

Hollywood, run them their checks. End the WGA Strike.

If you are an American writer of any kind - any kind, including fanfiction - and you don’t support the WGA’s strike, you need to take a step back and evaluate your status as a writer. Writers must support other writers. Without unions like the WGA, we’d have no protection as creators, no ownership over our ideas and our talents and our intellectual properties. We wouldn’t be able to make a living as writers—and many still can’t, which is why the WGA has gone on strike.

Here are a few informative articles I’ve read on the subject since the strike began:

https://www.vox.com/culture/23696617/writers-strike-wga-2023-explained-residuals-streaming-ai

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-01/hollywood-writers-strike-after-talks-over-pay-conditions-in-streaming-age-fail

https://apnews.com/article/writers-strike-hollywood-wga-926179281803e10b1d501dcab93e305d

(Vet these sources at your own discretion - I’ve personally found the Vox article to be the most descriptive and in-depth without getting too technical).

WRITERS MUST SUPPORT OTHER WRITERS.

If we don’t, the kind of future we’re looking at is a world where writers are heavily and unapologetically devalued within and beyond the Hollywood industry—

How Joe Biden Can Help Workers Without Congress

Did you know Joe Biden can help American workers right now, even without Congress? He can sign three executive orders, affecting a fifth of the economy and transforming millions of workers’ lives. 

Biden has made campaign promises to support workers. Here are 3 ways he can fulfill that promise.

First: require that the federal government contract only with unionized companies whenever possible. This would give workers more bargaining power in every industry from healthcare to telecoms to food service to tech to defense.

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Btw, if you’d like my daily analyses, commentary, and drawings, please subscribe to my free newsletter: robertreich.substack.com

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Back in the last century when I was secretary of labor, the Chamber of Commerce sued me for trying to do something similar. The Clinton administration had issued an executive order barring federal contracts with companies that permanently replaced striking workers. A federal court struck it down, ruling that the administration hadn’t shown that the executive order was necessary to save the government money. 

The way to ensure this executive order holds up is to include evidence that unionized companies save the government money. And that’s not hard to do. 

Unions may deliver higher wages but they also have been shown to deliver higher productivity. And higher productivity saves the government money.

Secondly, discourage union busting. Biden can require that federal contracts go only to companies that pledge to remain neutral in efforts to unionize. 

Companies routinely use an arsenal of union-busting tactics. Some are blatantly illegal. A third of companies fire employees who try to form a union. They harass and intimidate their workers. About half threaten to close up shop or slash wages and benefits. 

Why should taxpayers subsidize companies that illegally quash unions? 

Third, deny federal contracts to companies that break labor laws. Biden can require bidders on federal contracts to disclose any labor violations in the past 3 years. This would just be reinstating Obama’s executive order, which Trump revoked. 

Companies that break the law and hurt workers shouldn’t be rewarded with lucrative federal contracts.

A policy like this helps workers everywhere. One study found that when the Labor Department announced penalties for violating safety standards, other companies in the industry improved their safety standards.

Taken together, these three executive orders will improve the lives of millions of Americans. 

Starting at midnight, SAG-AFTRA, WGA East and WGA West will be on strike at the same time for the first time in 63 years. We're making history, while fighting for the future.