CWA announces industry-wide union for game workers from the US and Canada, United Video Game Workers

The Communications Workers of America has formed a new union, the United Video Game Workers (UVW-CWA), which is open to all video game industry workers in the United States and Canada.

The details:

• The UVW-CWA was announced at the current annual Game Developers Conference and described as a "direct-join, industry-wide video game union." Membership is open to workers in any sector of the gaming industry who are based in the US or Canada.

• The union's formation comes after tens of thousands of layoffs in recent years, with the goal of demanding "dignity and job security for all video game workers, particularly those facing layoffs." “The video game industry is not sustainable for its workers,” the union’s FAQ reads. “We pour our hearts and souls into game development for less pay and worse hours than we could get in other fields, and with no say into how these games are produced and sold. What’s more, this industry is notorious for mass layoffs, mismanagement, unrealistic crunch deadlines, and bigoted culture. UVW-CWA finds all of these practices (and more) reprehensible and in need of change.”

• According to its mission statement, the union is also fighting for higher wages in line with similar roles in other industries, an end to unreasonable deadlines leading to crunch, and employers being held accountable for failing to deliver on promises of benefits, promotions, and more.

• The CWA has previously organized unions at several major developers and publishers in the industry, including Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft. However, the industry as a whole has continued to suffer from layoffs, closures, and reports of employee mistreatment, with many issues attributed to poor management decisions and a lack of responsibility on the part of those involved.

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