#JustAMeeting- The Push To Unionize English Dubs Of Anime

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On September 20th, Crunchyroll announced that certain cast members of the anime Mob Psycho 100 will not be returning to the show for its third and final season reportedly due to the dub being recorded as a SimulDub at their Dallas, Texas studios. However, there is more to that story than meets the eye. That same day, Kyle McCarley, the voice of lead character Mob, released a video entitled “A Message to the Fans of Mob Psycho 100.” He explained that he and the other cast members were talking about trying to get the show produced under a SAG-AFTRA contract.

SAG-AFTRA, which stands for the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Actors, is a labor union that represents around 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, and other professionals in media. McCarley explains in a Twitter thread that the union provides many benefits for its members including collective bargaining that can negotiate terms for working conditions (e. g. protecting actors from vocally stressful work) and providing its members with health insurance.

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Unions protect the workers they represent chiefly by giving them collective bargaining power, meaning that instead of negotiating the terms of your employment individually, one-on-one, the union negotiates baseline minimums for everyone all at once. (1/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

This generally leads to better terms for all workers, because as a collective, you have sway in these negotiations. How much you get paid, how long your hours are, how hard those hours are, how often you get breaks or time off, what safety precautions are taken, etc. (2/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

Just one example of how SAG-AFTRA helps voice over performers, specifically, is by negotiating terms that protect us from vocally stressful work. We often have to do a lot of screaming/shouting on the job, but our contracts ensure it's never for too long a time (3/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

Our union's also gone to great lengths to educate both us and our employers on the dangers of vocally stressful work. And there are plenty of other benefits, but the big ones I want to point out are the health insurance and retirement fund. (4/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

America doesn't have universal health insurance; we pay for coverage, which can be expensive, and it often doesn't cover everything. Some workers can get it from their employers, which often means better/more affordable coverage, but that's not possible for performers. (5/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

We're freelancers. We work for a lot of different employers in very short bursts. So it wouldn't make any financial sense for any of them to give us health and retirement benefits on their own. That's where SAG-AFTRA comes in. (6/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

By collecting a small percentage on top of our fee for every job we work on, SAG-AFTRA funds a phenomenal health plan that's very affordable for qualifying members, as well as a retirement plan. These are HUGE reasons for actors to work union. (7/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

I could probably go on for days about this, but those are the big bullet points I wanted to cover for those unfamiliar/uncertain about the benefits of unionization that wouldn't fit in this video. (8/8)

— 𝕂𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕔ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@KyleMcCarley) September 20, 2022

During a zoom call with a good portion of the cast, an idea was pitched for Crunchyroll to produce the final season of Mob Psycho 100 non-union with the condition that Crunchyroll will meet with the union to produce future projects under a SAG-AFTRA contract. McCarley emailed the president of Crunchyroll with the proposal, but soon received a call stating that Crunchyroll would not agree to these terms. Even after clarifying that no commitment would be needed and that he only wanted them to meet with the union, they still did not agree. Because of this, McCarley will not be returning to the anime for its final season.

The announcement that Kyle McCarley would not be returning to the anime and the reason why caused a major uproar in both the anime and voice-over community. Fans wonder why Crunchyroll, a multi-billion dollar company owned by Sony, is not willing to even discuss producing their dubs under a SAG-AFTRA contract. Voice-over artists who have worked with Crunchyroll are speaking out, including voice actress Anairis Quiñones, who was only paid $150 for her work on the film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 despite it grossing $30 million at the US box office.

I was paid $150 total. No residuals or anything past that. https://t.co/SocaLabbga

— Anairis Quiñones 🔜 uwuCon (@anairis_q) September 21, 2022

Others report similar low rates. Crunchyroll’s translators are reportedly underpaid, only getting $80 per episode and receiving no benefits. Unfortunately, this problem is not new and extends beyond Crunchyroll itself, as Rachael Lillis, the original voice actress of Jessie and Misty from Pokémon points out:

What's going on in the dubbing industry has been going on for a long time. The playbook doesn't change. It's as upsetting now as it was 20+ years ago.

— Rachael Lillis (@RachaelLillis) September 21, 2022

The fight to unionize English dubs of anime is nothing new. The Coalition of Dubbing Actors (CODA) was founded in 2019 to improve the industry standards of voice-over work for these productions, pushing for a union contract that will benefit the actors involved. One of its big victories was the Netflix dubbing agreement with SAG-AFTRA in July of that year. Despite this, a vast amount of anime dubbing remains non-union outside of the streaming giant’s platform, particularly due to the Funimation and Crunchyroll merger creating something of a monopoly on the anime industry in the west.

In response to the announcement, several voice actors have requested that their fellow voice talents not audition for the role of Mob. Doing so will give Crunchyroll the ok to go through with this recasting and continue to ignore the push to unionize their productions. Fans have been canceling their subscriptions to the platform, with many stating the recent refusal to even talk with SAG-AFTRA and instead replacing their actors as the reason they ended their subscription. In addition, the hashtag #JustAMeeting has been spreading on social media, in reference to McCarley’s request. Even SAG-AFTRA themselves have jumped in, stating they are more than willing to meet with Crunchyroll.

Hey #mobpsycho100 fans, your favorite character has been recast because @crunchyroll @sonypictures refuses to even talk about a union contract. It's #justameeting. https://t.co/bVZyDqfRgq

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) September 24, 2022

Crunchyroll has been quiet on the matter. Their social media continues as normal, but the replies to their posts are filled with references to their refusal to meet with SAG-AFTRA. They have even left out Mob Psycho 100 in their Fall season announcements, perhaps fearing the backlash. Fans and industry professionals are not happy with Crunchyroll at the moment, all because they refused to have #JustAMeeting.

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Source(s): YouTube, Twitter, Los Angeles Times, Kotaku, CODAUnite

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