In the games industry, the topic of unionization is a hot topic of discussion and debate. Workers at various game publishers have constantly brought up how the games industry needs to have unions to help protect and encourage the rights of workers. This involves things like compensation, balancing schedules, and many other aspects of jobs involved with the creation of video games. While many people across social media have argued about the usefulness and rationale behind unionization, one group of workers from a popular gaming company has taken a step toward forming a union.
Originally reported by The Verge, workers at SEGA of America have decided to come together and announce plans to form a union. The workers are based at SEGA of America’s offices in Irvine, California, and are working together with CWA (Communications Workers of America). The group, which consists of 144 workers, hopes that their company SEGA will voluntarily recognize the union, but has already filed a petition for elections with the National Labor Relations Board.
Today we, a supermajority of workers at our @SEGA of America Irvine headquarters, are excited to announce that we are unionizing as the Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA—AEGIS—in partnership with @code_cwa. #UnionizeSEGA pic.twitter.com/lzbwFUZOFH
— AEGIS-CWA 💙 #UnionizeSEGA (@takesAEGIS) April 24, 2023
The group is known as AEGIS, an acronym that stands for Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega. The group took to Twitter to share a post with the announcement and followed up to clarify their goals for SEGA employees. “We believe that the passionate, hardworking people at our Irvine offices deserve a say in our working conditions, and we are joining together to advocate for change in our workplace. This is our vision for the path forward.”
This news comes after reports of Activison Blizzard and ZeniMax workers forming a union of their own. Those companies recently voted in Albany, New York to unionize, after a unanimous vote to do so. Before then, Activision Blizzard had tried to block the vote from taking place but was ultimately unsuccessful. Seven months prior to this, Activision Blizzard had the first-ever video game union formed with Raven Software. SEGA employees hope to follow in the footsteps of these companies and make working conditions for everyone better overall.
As of yet, there has been no official word from SEGA of America or SEGA of Japan about their workers forming a union, nor have employees experienced any sort of anti-union actions from management. According to those at the company, work has been underway to form a union at SEGA for over a year. When speaking with The Verge, temp localization editor Emma Geiger spoke about the efforts being made for workers at the company. “Organizing started out with making friends actually… You’d have a couple of people on your team that you’d hang out with after work. And then you’d see somebody in the office who was maybe not on your team, but worked in the same space, and you’d reach out. That sort of bridges a little bit of a gap…”
What do you think of this news about SEGA employees forming a union? Do you think this will help out everyone who works at SEGA of America? Share your thoughts about everything in the comments down below!
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