R.S. Owens & Company manufactures the 13 inch golden Oscar award statues given to winners at the Academy Awards, but this year there is a slight problem—a dispute between the company’s management and workers might mean that no new Oscars will be manufactured before next year’s awards ceremony.

The dispute is over a potential pay freeze and cute in benefits for the company’s manufacturing employees, and in the midst of the negotiations all manufacturing has stopped, meaning no new product off the company’s floor until some sort of agreement is reached.

Luckily, the academy says that they have enough on hand to proceed as usual—with or without newly minted Oscars. But the problem is more far reaching than just the Academy Awards—the same company also manufactures the awards that are handed out at the MTV Awards and the Emmys.

The next Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 26, and although the Oscars are good to go without a new set of awards, not all of American’s favorite awards show may have a “closet full” of their award statuettes ready, as an Oscar representative told the Huffington post the Academy does. Depending on how long the pause on production lasts, could 2012 be the year with no awards to give? And would our favorite awards ceremonies be as grandiose without the coveted prizes to be handed over as honors are awarded?

This potential shortage is important to American consumers because they represent an American tradition, and this news is significant to those in the manufacturing industry because the prominence of the product brings these negotiations to the forefront of news, for better or worse. What’s your opinion on these negotiations—or on the potential of annual awards shows without their symbolic awards?