Production management workers at Burbank’s Walt Disney Animation Studios have ratified their first union contract.

Represented by The Animation Guild/IATSE Local 839, this milestone moment has been two years in the making. The studio’s production workers voted to unionize in February 2023, as part of an effort to end “unsustainable workplace practices, such as low wages and unpaid overtime” for a group that includes production coordinators, production supervisors and production managers.

According to TAG, the negotiations for this first contract began in earnest on April 11 last year. And a tentative agreement was finally reached on February 13.

As part of their new contract, production workers are set to receive protections such as pension and health benefits. Wage increases have also been locked down—with a 24% jump for production managers, 29% for production supervisors and 35% for production coordinators, the lowest-paid staffers in the unit.

“During this downturn in entertainment production, production management workers at one of the most powerful corporations in the world stood up and demanded more,” said TAG organizer Allison Smartt. “They’ve won a historic contract that will have positive impacts long into the future and throughout the animation industry, and I know they aren’t done yet.”

Elsewhere, DreamWorks Animation is currently in negotiations for the first union contract with its production management workers across both film and TV.