The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, has been voluntarily recognized as the bargaining representative of 129 artists and production workers at Powerhouse Animation in Austin, Texas. The guild called it an “historic voluntary agreement.”

According to the guild, “This marks a significant moment for the animation industry, as Texas becomes the first right-to-work state and second state outside of California to have union-represented animation workers.” Last month, guild members ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with Titmouse Studio in New York.

The guild and the company will next engage in collective bargaining for a first-time contract. According to the company, “We have worked in almost every style of traditional animation, from gritty anime to feature animation to web-based cartoon animation. Powerhouse has been trusted with some of the world’s most important brands: Castlevania, Masters of the Universe, Mickey Mouse, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics characters.”

“Representing the Powerhouse artistic and production staff further solidifies The Animation Guild as the Union setting the standard for workplace conditions in the animation industry,” says Steve Kaplan, the guild’s business rep. “I also want to commend Powerhouse leadership in reaching a voluntary recognition agreement. I look forward to building on our established good relationship in Los Angeles to reach a first contract with the Austin studio.”

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“As a studio founded by animators who wanted to improve the industry, Powerhouse has always tried to put our incredible team of artists first,” said Brad Graeber, the company’s CEO and chief creative officer. “We have strived to be a transparent and fair company that does our best to balance the work and life of artists in an industry that often abuses talent. When we learned that our staff wanted to organize, we worked with the union to recognize their organization in a way that was fair for our very unique studio in Texas.”

“I can’t express how proud we are that Powerhouse management has voluntarily recognized our union,” said MinJi Yoon, a character artist and member of the union’s organizing committee. “What I’ve always loved about working at Powerhouse is the community of skilled and caring people we get to work with. Now we really have the power to fortify what makes this place the groundbreaking studio it is and to advocate for our own working conditions with fair representation. At this critical point for the future of our industry, I’m also incredibly excited to stand in solidarity with the rest of entertainment workers in America!”

Suzanne Sharp, a character artist and organizing committee member, said “It’s such a special moment for me personally to see our coworkers’ commitment and compassion for each other, collaborating with the studio to become the best that it can be so that animation workers can create the work that we love so much. We’re looking forward to sitting down with leadership to make that path together.”