London VFX Industry's Last Chance

Last week we launched vfxAssemble, a new call for unionisation in the London VFX industry. It's designed so that you won't have to commit to anything until over 50% of the London VFX workforce is unionised.

Why is the 50% threshold important?

Because it will allow you to have an elected representative inside your workplace, so that if you feel you are being treated unfairly, harassed or made suddenly redundant, you will actually be able to do something about it.Have you ever had to work unreasonable hours for months on end to meet unreasonable client demands? Have you ever been worried that if you don't do that you won't last long in the industry? Are your children growing up without you because you are always at work? Are you not able to start a family because of your job? Have you witnessed or experienced first-hand discrimination, sexism or bullying? Are you worried that the work will move elsewhere and you will be forced to relocate to another continent? Is your physical and mental health suffering as a result of your job?Whatever your worries might be, there is not a single instance where you wouldn't benefit from being part of a collective voice.

If together we can't make things better, you certainly won't be able to on your own.

November 10th is the deadline to sign up. If we don't meet our goal by then you won't be a member, you won't be charged anything, and London VFX will remain an industry of mostly isolated migrant workers at the mercy of company bosses, tax breaks and weak employment laws.vfxAssemble is a campaign put together by volunteer VFX workers in their very little spare time. The website might not be sleek, and we don't have the budget for marketing and advertising. But we want to be part of a better industry, and we think vfxAssemble is the last chance we've got to achieve that.Now it's up to YOU! Two things happening right away that you can participate in to find out more:First, there is a big BECTU meeting tonight called "Eyes Half Shut" where we will talk about vfxAssemble, A new research report into long hours in film production followed up with a discussion on Brexit and how it impacts our industry. It's free to attend and all are welcomeWed 18 October 2017, 19:30 – 21:00 BST - Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, London, W1C 2DJSecond, there is a Facebook Live session on Monday, 23rd October at 9:00 pm where we will talk about vfxAssemble and you can ask questions live.

facebook.com/vfxunionuk

We hope to see you there.