Hollywood, California, November 1,2004 – By a vote of 166 to 20, employees of DPS Film Roman in North Hollywood have voted to be represented by the Animation Guild, Local 839 IATSE.

In a secret-ballot vote conducted by the National Labor Relations Board on October 29, the Guild was endorsed by almost ninety percent of the voting employees, and over three-quarters of the entire animation staff. DPS Film Roman, which was founded in 1984, produces the animation for the hit Fox programs The Simpsons and King Of The Hill, as well as the popular Saturday-morning series X-Men: Evolution.

The Animation Guild represents almost 2,000 animation artists and technicians at Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network, Fox TV Animation, Nickelodeon, Universal and many smaller animation studios in southern California. As a result of the affirmative vote, DPS Film Roman is obligated to bargain in good faith with the Guild to reach a collective bargaining agreement.

“We’re thrilled by the overwhelming decisiveness the DPS Film Roman crew has shown with this vote,” said Animation Guild President Kevin Koch. “These artists: have created some of the most successful and memorab1e shows on television, and it’s long overdue that they get the representation and benefits they so richly deserve. Given this clear mandate, we’re looking forward to fast and effective negotiations with management.”