"A union isn't just about fending off all the bad things. It's about being an engine for change and a vehicle for growth, making sure that your workplace becomes a better place to work in and that you're being adequately treated."
The video game industry is burning, but the fires rampaging around the world aren't the result of some unforeseeable act of god. This is arson on a massive scale, and if you're looking for the culprits, you might want to swing by the C-suite.
There you'll find the executives that have so far laid off thousands of workers in 2024 in a bid to appease shareholders and deliver something vaguely resembling sustainability after playing a carefree game of Russian roulette during the pandemic, when mergers and acquisitions were in vogue.
What can workers across the industry do to fight for their rights in an industry that now feels more turbulent than ever? One answer you might hear bandied about is "unionize." Staff at major studios like Activision Blizzard, Sega of America, CD Projekt Red and others have rallied together in recent years to fight for better working conditions as a collective, often winning notable victories in the face of alleged union-busting tactics.
Why, though, should developers consider nailing their colors to that mast, and what potential benefits and challenges might it bring? Over the past month, we spoke with a number of union members and staffers to learn more about what collective organization can offer workers across the game industry.
Read the article at Game Developer.
Our news editor, Chris Kerr, just wrote this multi-source feature on unions in the games industry -- what unions really are (not a scary third party entity that corporate exec union-busting bullshit would have you believe), and how they can at least help mitigate some of the damage we're seeing in the utter bloodbath that is the industry right now. Please read and share, this is an important one.