US Sega employees successfully form a multi-department union

The AEGIS-CWA union has announced that it has won its union election vote, now making it the largest multi-department union in the gaming industry.

The details:

• The Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS-CWA) announced on Twitter that it had won its union vote 91-26, with 212 employees at the company eligible to vote. This is the fifth gaming industry union to be formed in the United States, and the largest multi-departmental union. "We are overjoyed to celebrate our union election win as members of AEGIS-CWA," Sega translator Ángel Gómez said in a statement. "Now, through our union, we’ll be able to protect the parts of our jobs we love, and strengthen the benefits, pay, and job stability available to all workers.”
• It was founded in April under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and at the time consisted of 144 people from Sega's QA, product development, marketing, localization, and live service departments. Persona developer Atlus West was also confirmed to be included in the union. Most video game unions were formed in the past by QA teams following claims of low pay and overwork, with teams at Raven Software, Blizzard Albany, Tender Claws, and ZeniMax Media all advocating for better working conditions at their respective studios.
• According to its mission statement, the union will advocate for higher base pay that rises in tandem with the cost of living and inflation, improved healthcare, retirement, and other benefits, better opportunities, and balanced workloads to prevent overworking. At the time of the announcement, nearly a third of Sega employees lacked "full-time status, paid time off, proper training, or even bereavement leave," according to the union.

More Sega news:

• Sega has announced that one of its popular franchises will be licensed for use in a Web3 title, just days after its co-chief operating officer called blockchain and pay-to-earn games "boring." Sonic and friends will not be associated with Web3 gaming for the foreseeable future, leaving fans to speculate on which of its IPs will be given the crypto treatment.
• Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and other notable Sega titles, was found guilty of insider trading by the Tokyo District Court after being arrested twice on suspicion of the crime. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison with a four-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay two $1.2 million fines.