Apple TV+ visual effects workers file to unionize

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has made a bid to represent a small group of visual effects workers who staff Apple TV+ series.
Katie Kilkenny for The Hollywood Reporter:
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On Friday the union announced that it had submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to represent 17 workers at six Apple Studios LLC shows including Bubbi, Jiminy, Foxtrot, Government Cheese, Surface, and Blackbird [sic]. The union is seeking to represent roles such as VFX production supervisor/manager, VFX coordinator, VFX production assistant, VFX witness camera operator and VFX on-set supervisor, among other classifications. According to IATSE, a “supermajority” of the proposed bargaining unit has signed union authorization cards.
In a statement, VFX lead data wrangler Liam Mazarra said he was “proud to stand with my colleagues at Apple Studios as we build a more just and promising future for the visual effects community.” Mazarra added, “As artists and workers helping to create stories of the twenty-first century, we deserve rights and representation equal to others in our industry.”
According to VFX coordinator Valerie Wicks, one of the motivations to organize Apple Studios shows was to continue increasing the number of unionized workplaces across the business. “Apple is a wonderful place to work, so I participated [in the union drive] partly to keep it that way and to make sure people of all job titles had my same experience,” she said. “But most of all, I participated for the greater goal of unionizing all of VFX, across every studio. That’s the dream, and we are now one step closer.”

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MacDailyNews Note: We don’t know to what Kilkenny refers when she mentions Bubbi, Jiminy, or Foxtrot, as they’re not known to be among past, present, or future Apple Studios productions. Those could be working titles for future productions. Surface premiered on Apple TV+ July 29, 2022. In December 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. Black Bird was a six-episode miniseries that premiered on Apple TV+ on July 8, 2022. Government Cheese is an upcoming Apple TV+ comedy drama series created by Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr. Filming began in May 2024 under the working title Bonneville in Los Angeles.
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