Updated 7.24.26.

In December 2024 members of The Animation Guild Local 839 ratified a three-year deal -- the 2024-2027 Animation Guild Master Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement features increases in general wages, MPI pension and health rates, higher CSATF contribution rates, and other changes across the board — from dismissal pay to sick time, and more.

Here's a summary of the key increases and changes you need to be aware of going forward.

Term

• August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2027

Wages

📌 Editor's note (July 2026): The August 2026 rate increases below take effect August 2, 2026.

• General Increases
  • Effective August 4, 2024 - 7% increase
  • Effective August 3, 2025 - 4% increase
  • Effective August 2, 2026 - 3.5% increase
• Daily Hires Calculation Increase
  • Effective January 1, 2025 - Daily hire hourly rate calculations increased from 118% of the weekly hire hourly rate to 118.583% of the weekly hire hourly rate
• Color Designer
  • Effective March 23, 2025 - Color Designer moved to the “Designer” wage block and will receive additional increases on March 28, 2027 to bring them in line with “Model Designers.”
• Unit Rates for Animation Timer
  • Effective January 1, 2025 - Unit rates for Animation Timer were eliminated.

MPI Pension and Health Plan

📌 Editor's note (July 2026): The August 2026 rate increases below take effect August 2, 2026. 

• Premium Rate (Non-$15 million contributors):
  • Effective August 4, 2024 - Increased from $12.3775 per hour to $14.0275 per hour
  • Effective August 3, 2025 - Increased from $14.0275 per hour to $14.8875 per hour
  • Effective August 2, 2026 - Increase from $14.8875 per hour to $15.7475 per hour
• Basic Rate ($15 million contributors): 
  • Effective August 4, 2024 - Increased from $8.1275 per hour to $9.5175 per hour
  • Effective August 3, 2025 - Increased from $9.5175 per hour to $9.9675 per hour
  • Effective August 2, 2026 - Increase from $9.9675 per hour to $10.4175 per hour

CSATF Contribution Rate

📌 Editor's note (July 2026): The December 2026 rate increase below takes effect December 27, 2026. 

• Basic CSATF Rate
  • Effective December 29, 2024 - Increased from $0.10 per hour to $0.63 per hour
  • Effective December 27, 2026 - Increase from $0.63 per hour to $0.66 per hour

Benefit Hours for On Call Employees

• Effective December 29, 2024 - Benefit hours for On Call employees are no longer a flat amount per week, but are based on the number of days worked in the workweek as follows:
  • Partial Week (Less than 5 days) - 12 hours per day
  • Five Day Week - 60 hours
  • Six Day Week - 68 hours
  • Seven Day Week - 76 hours

Seventh Day For On Call Employees

• Effective December 29, 2024 - Pay for On Call employees on the seventh day worked in the workweek increased from 1.5X ⅕ of the weekly rate to 2X ⅕ on the weekly rate. (Note: Sixth Day provisions remain at 1.5X ⅕ of the weekly rate.) 

Dismissal Pay

• Effective December 29, 2024 - Dismissal Pay for employees who work for 3 months, but less than 6 months increased from 1 ¼ days pay to 2 days pay.

Holidays

• Effective January 1, 2025 - Juneteenth was added as a recognized holiday.
• Effective January 1, 2025 - The holiday accrual rate increased from 4% of annual straight time earnings to 4.583% of annual straight time earnings.

Bereavement Leave

• Effective December 29, 2024 - Regularly-scheduled employees must be allowed 3 days of paid bereavement leave in the event of the death of a family member.
• Family Member is defined as:
  • Biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
  • Biological, adopted, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of the employee or the employee’s spouse or domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.
  • Spouse
  • Registered Domestic Partner
  • Grandparent
  • Grandchild
  • Sibling

Sick Time

• Effective January 1, 2025 - Maximum sick time accrual for hours worked in CA increased from 48 to 80 hours.
• Effective January 1, 2025 - If the employer elects to provide a bank of hours in lieu of an accrual, the time frame of when that bank becomes available decreases from 90 to 45 days.
• Effective January 1, 2025 - If the employer elects to provide a bank of hours in lieu of an accrual, the amount of banked hours increases from 24 hours (3 days) to 40 hours (5 days).

Productions Made for New Media (Sideletter N)

• Effective December 29, 2024 - AVOD and FAST Channel new media productions are included in the provisions of the New Media Sideletter.
• Effective for new seasons of an episodic series that commence production on or after January 26, 2025 - New media projects that previously used rates from the previous contract year now use rates that are reduced 3% from the regular television rates.

Position Changes

• Effective December 29, 2024 - The below position was eliminated from the agreement.
  • Production Board 2nd 6 months (Occ. Code 21-027)
• Effective January 26, 2025 - The below positions were eliminated from the agreement. 
  • Staff Comic Strip Person and/or Artist (Occ. Code 21-801)
  • Assistant Staff Comic Strip Person and/or Artist (Occ. Code 21-802)
  • Story Sketch (Occ. Code 21-312)
• Effective for projects that commence production or enter into a license agreement on or after March 23, 2025 - The below positions were added to the wage table.
  • Animation Art Director (Occ. Code 21-000)
  • Assistant Animation Story Person (Occ. Code 21-011)
  • Animation Story Person Employed on a TV Series > 7 minutes or Animated HB SVOD > 20 - 35 min. (Occ. Code 21-025)
• Effective for contracts entered into on or after March 23, 2025 - Storyboard Pilot Unit rates were added to the wage table.
• Effective for projects that commence production or enter into a license agreement on or after March 23, 2025 - Animation Writer weekly scale rates were added to the wage table.
• Effective for projects that commence production or enter into a license agreement on or after March 23, 2025 - Minimum Staffing provisions were added for ½ hour script-driven animated series with a season order of 6 or more episodes where Animation Writers and a Supervising Animation Writer working under the 839 agreement are employed for the full season.

Navigating these changes doesn't have to fall entirely on your production accounting team. Learn more about why GreenSlate is the best solution for animation production accounting and payroll and how we help animation productions stay compliant with evolving union rates.

For more labor relations updates, check out our latest labor relations blogs. 

The information in this communication is general in nature and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice rendered by GreenSlate, LLC. The reader should contact his or her attorney, CPA, or tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information.