On Feb. 23, 2005, negotiations broke down in the ongoing dispute between the Spanish-language voices of THE SIMPSONS union and a Mexico City-based dubbing studio, spurring the cast to go on an official strike, reports HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
The cast alleges that its employer, formerly known as Grabaciones y Doblajes, breached its contract with their union, the National Actors' Assn. Union, by hiring union-member actors. The company claims that the contract was made void when its administration and company name changed to Grabaciones y Doblajes Internacionales (GDI).
Latin American distributor Fox Channels has stayed out of the fray.
The union placed strike banners outside GDI's offices Wednesday, prohibiting all access to the building until a solution in reached.
Despite only making $50 per episode, compared to the U.S. actors $250,000 per episode salary, the actors are not demanding a pay raise. The have not worked on the series since September.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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