You would be forgiven in thinking this has already happened, but Vodeo Games-developer of Beast Breaker-now has North America's first gaming union in Vodeo Workers United. The union is partnered with CODE-CWA, which is a project "launched by the Communications Workers of America to unionize tech and video game workers" back in January 2020. For a project started just under two years ago, it appears to be doing pretty well so far, eh?
Anyways, it's unlikely this whole unionizing thing would've gotten the traction it needed-at least in the still relatively new video games industry-without the whole kerfuffle at Activision Blizzard, which just last week apparently sent out an email admonishing employees that were trying to unionize.
“We were really inspired by what a lot of our colleagues were doing in the game industry and the tech industry and beyond — Voltage Organized Workers, United Paizo Workers … there was a lot going on,” Vodeo designer Carolyn Jong told Polygon. “It felt like a natural next step for us to be talking about, ‘Hey, maybe we should be unionizing,’ and help set a positive precedent for the digital games industry as well.”
“They’re not organizing because there’s some big scary boss, like Bobby Kotick or someone,” CODE-CWA campaign lead Emma Kinema told Polygon. “They’re organizing because they care so much about the work they do, and they want more of a say over how it’s done — the conditions in which they work to actually make those games that they care about.”
While it is a remarkable achievement, Vodeo Games isn't the first video gaming company to unionize worldwide. Game Workers Unite UK, for instance, organized back in 2018. Still, it's a massive step forward for workers rights, along with the formation of the Game Workers Unite Australia union next month.
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What do you think of this news? Do you think there's going to be more unions to come? If so, where? Let us know in the comments!
