‘Saturday Night Live’ Visual Effects Artists Ratify Historic First Union Contract

Fifteen visual effects workers at “Saturday Night Live” have unanimously ratified their
first union contract.

All fifteen eligible voters voted Yes, marking a significant milestone for VFX artists and leads at the legendary sketch comedy show, which just celebrated its 50th season.

IATSE confirmed the development on Monday. After successfully organizing in October 2024, contract negotiations began in April 2025. The first-ever agreement brings significant improvements, including: established minimum wage scale, secured ongoing healthcare benefit, annuity contribution, “Kill fees” for artists hired for projects canceled before completion, a robust grievance process and critical AI and outsourcing protections.

“The VFX team is proud to be officially part of IATSE,” said Hannah S. Kim, one of the lead
organizers. “We are excited to join the large union presence at ‘SNL‘ and hope this inspires the
rest of the VFX and animation industries across the country to follow suit. I personally am so
happy to see my fellow artists be protected under a union, and look forward to the future of
this team under a bargaining unit.”

David Torres Eber added, “Thanks to the hard work of all the members of the ‘SNL’ VFX team and our new friends with IATSE, we have accomplished something pretty incredible. At a breakneck speed we have ratified our first union contract for a VFX team in New York City. Hopefully just the first of many!”

Danny Behar highlighted the importance of the contract in the broader context of the industry. “Having a contract is a huge feat, especially during these unsteady times in the television industry. We’re excited to continue our work and inspire other VFX teams to organize.”

Richard Lampasone emphasized aspects surrounding technology: “This is a groundbreaking contract for us and our industry. We’ve reached a consensus on a worker-centric AI policy that will help us keep doing our best work as our craft evolves.”

Chaim Kantor, Assistant Department Director for Motion Picture and Television (MPTV), led the
negotiations and was instrumental in securing this historic agreement swiftly.