Picketing In Front of PBS! Just Blame It On Canada?
The skies were blue. The temperature was warm, but not too hot. A
perfect day for a protest. Nearly 250 members of the Screen Cartoonists'
Union Local M.P.S.C. 893 showed up in front of PBS for a picket. One
may say, what do Los Angeles artists have to complain about when Hollywood
boasts seven animated features and ten primetime series slated to
go in front of audiences in 2000? Well, the union says in the last
18 months the employment rate of its employees has dropped nearly
40 percent. But why picket in front of Sesame Street’s
home? In January, PBS announced that they were sending their entire
Saturday animation schedule to Toronto-based Nelvana Limited for a
reported deal worth US$40 million. Considering PBS is publicly funded
by tax dollars and contributions, the 3,000 member union felt it was
time to take a stand -- right in front of the PBS affiliate KCET.
The turn-out was terrific. It's better than we ever imagined. It
shows the depth of emotion in Hollywood toward this issue," enthuses
Tom
Sito, president of the Screen Cartoonists' Union Local 893. With
bright, cartoon-faced signs in hand, the crowd received many honks
of support from passing cars. The issue of production companies sending
work to Canada is a touchy subject in L.A. The Cartoonists received
attendees from the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America,
the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists and the Film and TV
Action Committee. One person calling himself "Shawn" explains he had
been out of work for a year and that, "[Local 893] is in support of
[the other unions], so it’s nice to see them out here in support
of us." The people with picket signs were working and non-working
artists and even some non-union animators showed up to support the
cause. Work leaving the U.S. was a hot topic on the sidewalks in front
of the KCET building. Rudy Cataldi, a director on The Smurfs, says,
"I’ve been in the business for 57-years. I’ve seen it go
up and down, but it looks like it’s pretty rough now. A lot of
people are losing their homes." With the current employment numbers
of the union members now at 1,700, the Local 839 is experiencing an
unemployment rate of nearly 57 percent.
So Blame Canada! One may think by the sound of it that just across the U.S. border
is a magical toonland like in Roger Rabbit. However, the Canadian
market is also experiencing its own cutbacks. Disney, who moved most
of its direct-to-video production to Canada, has moved out of its
studios in Vancouver and Toronto. DreamWorks sent its work on the
direct-to-video, Joseph, to Bardel Animation, however the Vancouver-based
animation house has downsized since finishing up on the project.
One of the biggest animation companies in the world, Nelvana Limited,
is sending some of their work to China and the Pacific Rim. Is this just another case of American ethnocentrism? One could say
animation jobs are leaving Canada too. American artists get paid more,
so what are they crying about?
However, some may wonder if this is another case of Hollywood
blaming Canada for its problems. Lately, America seems to be using
their neighbors to the north as a convenient whipping post. Heck,
the Academy Awards’ most elaborate number for best song was "Blame
Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
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