The Disney strike came at a time of vast change in America. In the midst of WWII, the animation industry was suffering its own internal war. Although the movement is known as the "Disney Strike," it affected every single aspect of animation. The strike is said to have, "spawned new studios, new creative styles, new characters and changed animation forever."
Following the depression years of the 30's, unions sprouted like crazy. The animation industry was on the path toward unionization as well. As early as 1926, Ub Iwerks attempted to create a union, but for sake of their jobs, the workers called it a club to keep it secret. In 1938, The Screen Cartoonists Guild (SCG) "began an aggressive campaign of organizing animation workers." This organization was kept a major secret from the big-time bosses of each studio. They were an official union, but lacked the numbers to be truly recognized by Disney. Disney monopolized the cartoon industry, employing 800 artists in their cartoon industry. The newly formed SCG had a total number of just 115 members. Disney held, "1293 employees labored six days a week. Disney plowed the profits back into new studio facilities and bolder experiments in animation and stereophonic sound. But wages remained low across the board and bonuses or raises were given irregularly at the whim of management. No screen credit was allowed other than Walt Disney's." To combat these difficult working conditions, American Federation of Labor organizer Herb Sorrel, Disney animator Art Babbit, and SCG President Bill Littlejohn met with Walt Disney to ask for recognition of their union, hoping for permission from Disney to allow his employees to join the union. Walt was very upset and insisted his employees were part of the Federation of Screen Cartoonists (FSC). However, the FSC was a, "sham union set up by the company that had been declared illegal by the National Board of Labor Relations." Walt Disney then, "fired Babbit and 16 other pro-union artists, a violation of Federal Labor Law." The Disney Strike of 1941 would commence the following day.
Because of Walt's stubbornness, The strike would last 9 weeks. Employees had to risk being let go or continue to under the harsh conditions for their families. Walt Disney became, "compelled by Federal mediators, nationwide boycotts, his financiers the Bank of America and his brother Roy to give in and recognize the Guild. On Sept 21, 1941, everyone went back to work. Salaries doubled overnight for a 40-hour workweek and screen credits were established. The Screen Cartoonist Guild now represented 90% of Hollywood animation workers."
Just like that, the strike began, and ended. Easy, right? Everyone is happy? This was not the case. Walt Disney had grown suspicious of most loyal artists. Pro-unionists slowly drifted away from the company. The strike affected every aspect of the cartoon industry. Some of the most notable names in animation played a major role in this strike. Frank Tashlin, who would later become a Looney Tunes Director had worked at Disney pre- strike. Tashlin would move on to create Screen Gems by hiring a large portion of those fired from Disney after the strike. Chuck Jones, an art director pre-strike left Disney to create some of the most notorious characters to date: Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Will E. Coyote, and Roadrunner. "Some formed the new company United Productions of America, called UPA."
Fast forward to 1956, Disney attempted to make good out of the strike saying, "the strike was a good thing because it cleaned house over there better than I could ever have done."
Following the depression years of the 30's, unions sprouted like crazy. The animation industry was on the path toward unionization as well. As early as 1926, Ub Iwerks attempted to create a union, but for sake of their jobs, the workers called it a club to keep it secret. In 1938, The Screen Cartoonists Guild (SCG) "began an aggressive campaign of organizing animation workers." This organization was kept a major secret from the big-time bosses of each studio. They were an official union, but lacked the numbers to be truly recognized by Disney. Disney monopolized the cartoon industry, employing 800 artists in their cartoon industry. The newly formed SCG had a total number of just 115 members. Disney held, "1293 employees labored six days a week. Disney plowed the profits back into new studio facilities and bolder experiments in animation and stereophonic sound. But wages remained low across the board and bonuses or raises were given irregularly at the whim of management. No screen credit was allowed other than Walt Disney's." To combat these difficult working conditions, American Federation of Labor organizer Herb Sorrel, Disney animator Art Babbit, and SCG President Bill Littlejohn met with Walt Disney to ask for recognition of their union, hoping for permission from Disney to allow his employees to join the union. Walt was very upset and insisted his employees were part of the Federation of Screen Cartoonists (FSC). However, the FSC was a, "sham union set up by the company that had been declared illegal by the National Board of Labor Relations." Walt Disney then, "fired Babbit and 16 other pro-union artists, a violation of Federal Labor Law." The Disney Strike of 1941 would commence the following day.
Because of Walt's stubbornness, The strike would last 9 weeks. Employees had to risk being let go or continue to under the harsh conditions for their families. Walt Disney became, "compelled by Federal mediators, nationwide boycotts, his financiers the Bank of America and his brother Roy to give in and recognize the Guild. On Sept 21, 1941, everyone went back to work. Salaries doubled overnight for a 40-hour workweek and screen credits were established. The Screen Cartoonist Guild now represented 90% of Hollywood animation workers."
Just like that, the strike began, and ended. Easy, right? Everyone is happy? This was not the case. Walt Disney had grown suspicious of most loyal artists. Pro-unionists slowly drifted away from the company. The strike affected every aspect of the cartoon industry. Some of the most notable names in animation played a major role in this strike. Frank Tashlin, who would later become a Looney Tunes Director had worked at Disney pre- strike. Tashlin would move on to create Screen Gems by hiring a large portion of those fired from Disney after the strike. Chuck Jones, an art director pre-strike left Disney to create some of the most notorious characters to date: Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Will E. Coyote, and Roadrunner. "Some formed the new company United Productions of America, called UPA."
Fast forward to 1956, Disney attempted to make good out of the strike saying, "the strike was a good thing because it cleaned house over there better than I could ever have done."
- Sito, Tom. "The Disney Strike of 1941: How It Changed Animation & Comics."AWN.com. Animation World Network, 19 July 2005. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.