"Stop Busting Homer Simpson's Union"!

Simpsons



[Information for this alert comes from the Mexian National Association of Actors (ANDA) and U.S. Labor Education Project in the Americas (US/LEAP)]
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/article.php?sid=1262&mode=thread&order=0

Mexican actors who do the voice dubbing for Fox Entertainment Group Spanish-language programs in Latin America including The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle were forced to strike on February 23 when their employer refused to honor the workers' collective bargaining agreement requiring the use of union labor. For 40 years, the Mexican National Association of Actors (ANDA) has guaranteed union actors' right to work on productions by Grabaciones y Doblajes Internacional (GDI), which produces the programs for Fox. When GCI refused to respect the existing collective bargaining agreements, ANDA actors such as Humberto Vélez, the voice of Homer Simpson, stopped working to protect the union's rich tradition of providing top-notch performances for Latin American audiences. "We are not difficult people to work with; we work out of love of our craft," says Vélez. "Let's hope that before we have to turn this into an ugly affair that (our employers) solve the issue. It would break my heart to have to stop doing the voice of Homero, and to turn on the television and hear someone else doing my voice."[El Universal]

ANDA is striking to protect its collective bargaining agreement that guarantees union members the right to work. Although the dispute is not about money, it is worth noting that there is a stark contrast between the $60 per episode paid by DGI in Mexico and earnings of their English-speaking counterparts, who are paid as much as $250,000 USD per episode. Over 250 million viewers in 40 Spanish-speaking countries watch Los Simpson and other Fox programs. Striking ANDA actors ask that worker rights advocates immediately contact GDI's main client, Fox Entertainment Group, to insist that it do the right thing. Urge Fox to demand that GDI respect the basic rights of its workers and the collective bargaining agreement and to stop using non-union labor for voice dubbing of Fox programs.