[pfranz]

I think you're conflating animation and VFX. They both have different stories than the Japanese anime industry this article is about. These [1] are the kinds of studios I think of for VFX and none of them are in the Animation Guild.

The Animation Guild has been around since the 50s. There were fights in the 70s and 80s over offshoring. In my experience, in the past few decades the Animation Guild has great training programs, medical and retirement, but doesn't really swing its weight around over employment.

VFX was completely separate and has never been unionized. There were efforts in the 90s that turned into the Visual Effects Society, which is more about promoting VFX and recognizing achievements. There were efforts again when Rhythm and Hues closed the same year it won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects that also didn't go anywhere.

[1] https://studiohog.com/vfx-studios/United-States/California/L...