Disney Animators Strike
The 1930s saw a rise in labour unions in motion pictures, similar to the Screen Actors’ Guild. Animators of Fleischer Studios went on strike in 1937, leading to the formation of the Screen Cartoonists Guild in 1938. Herbert Sorrell, a left winger, led the guild, which secured contracts with various companies. Disney, despite being the best paid and working under the best conditions, faced discontentment. Walt Disney initially gave 20% of profits to employees as bonuses, but suspended this on the film Snow White due to criticism. Instead, Walt gave “salary adjustments” to exceptional animators, causing the pay structure to become disorganised. Many animators joined the Screen Cartoonists Guild, including Goofy’s creator Art Babbitt, who later questioned Walt’s authority and rallied his staff against him.
Disney, the largest animation studio, faced pressure from the Screen Cartoonists’ Guild. Sorrell demanded a salary agreement and threatened a strike if Walt refused. Walt agreed to vote with the National Labor Relations Board, but Sorrell argued that Disney was a fool. The strike began when Disney fired Babbitt who was called a “troublemaker” and “Bolshevik”. The strike occurred during the making of Dumbo, with cartoonists from other studios supporting the strikers. Warner Bros. Cartoonists (which had a former mouse house animator named Friz Freleng AKA I. Freleng (the I standing for Isador, his given name with Friz being a nickname)) volunteered their cars to form a motorcade around the Disney studio.
It is believed that the clowns’ aspiration to get a raise from their boss in Dumbo (1941) is a reference to the strike, right down to the clowns’ likenesses being based on the animators who went on strike. The strike lasted 3 months. Disney eventually accepted Nelson Rockefeller's suggestion to make a tour of Latin America as a goodwill ambassador. If Nelson Rockefeller's surname seems familiar then it should be noted that he was part of the Rockefeller family who have the iconic 75 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Walt’s absence helped settle the strike, with the help of a federal mediator. The studio signed a contract and became a union shop.
Though it should be noted that the strike wasn’t without potential violence. Early in the conflict, Babbitt was standing on the picket line one morning when he saw Walt driving his car through it and idly waving at the strikers. Outraged by his boss's casual demeanour, Babbitt addressed the strikers by brandishing a bullhorn and declaring the arrival of "the man who believes in brotherhood for everybody but himself." "Walt Disney, you should be ashamed of yourself!" he yelled at his boss. Their employer was so furious that he abruptly stopped his car, got out, and charged Babbitt with his fists clenched, only to be stopped by the cops. The crowd had booed their boss.
The Disney studio experienced significant damage after a strike, resulting in a reduction in employees from 1,200 to 694. Notable animators who left included Art Babbitt, Bill Tytla, Walt Kelly, Virgil Partch, Tyrus Wong, Hank Ketcham (creator of the American Dennis the Menace comic strip that shouldn’t be confused with the British Dennis), Jules Engel, Stephen Bosustow, David Hilberman, Zack Schwartz, Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Preston Blair, Ed Love, Walter Clinton, and Don Williams. Frank Tashlin left for Screen Gems, where he hired Emery Hawkins, John Hubley, Grant Simmons, and others. Animators who returned to Leon Schlesinger Productions included Bill Meléndez (who would later have a hand in adapting the Peanuts comics by Charles Schultz into animated specials), Maurice Noble, Cornett Wood, and Jack Bradbury.
Following the World War II era strike, several notable animators left Disney, including Volus Jones, Claude Smith, Bernie Wolf, Joey Lockwood, Alfred Abranz, William Hurtz, T. Hee, and Howard Swift. Disney rehired Babbitt after World War II, but never forgiven him for instigating the strike. Other notable animators returned postwar, including Volus Jones, Phil Duncan, Milt Schaffer, Emery Hawkins, Basil Davidovich, and Jack Bradbury. Walt Disney felt betrayed and uncertain about trusting others.
The legacy of the 1941 Disney Strike has been ringing louder than it has been before recently with big studios becoming greedy and reducing their spending and cutting staff to make their finances better. These actions also include cancelling projects (including already completed ones), laying of artists en masse and outsourcing their jobs as well as becoming dangerously close to reducing further spending on workers by hiring soulless environmentally unfriendly generative AI (Artificial Intelligence). These actions have made it hard for animators to receive any form of pay which affects their livelihoods like paying for their groceries and rent and have a stable job. Ditto for writers and voice actors in the animation industry with one voice actor having to take on the job of being an Amazon delivery driver (and he recently got bitten by an angry dog on the job)! As a result, the Animation Guild is now seeking for the better working conditions, benefits and protection that the Writers’ Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA had seeked last year in 2023. They haven’t shown any signs of striking yet, just a rally for negotiation taking place in Los Angeles on 10 August 2024 but the The Animation Guild’s Master Agreement expires on 16th August of this year as of writing this! Further information and recommendation on how to support this battle can be found on Animation Workers Ignited’s social media accounts.
