The workers at Sega are the latest game developers to embrace unionization, as employees at Sega of America have just voted to unionize.
We first learned that workers at Sega of America wanted to unionize in April to improve their pay, benefits, and work hours, per Axios. A group of employees from departments like marketing, localization, testing, and product development began working with the Nation Labor Relations Board and Communication Workers of America to unionize then. Sega of America management decided to voluntarily recognize the group, so the decision for unionization went to a vote.
Two hundred Sega of America workers were eligible to vote. According to Kotaku, 91 voted yes, 26 voted no, three ballots were voided, and 19 ballots were challenged. Still, that’s enough for the vote to pass in favor of the formation of the union.
“Our 200+ member union is now the largest multi-department union of organized workers in the entire gaming industry,” the union stated on Twitter following the vote. “So excited to celebrate this win & head to the bargaining table w/ Sega to continue building this company we love.” It went on the thank various game unionization efforts that came before it at companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media before stating, “We can’t wait to see more workers join us in unionizing their workplace — together, we can ensure EVERY worker wins their fair share!”
This Sega of America union is the latest success in an industry where unionization efforts have become a lot more common. Although Sega of America’s union might just simply seem like the latest of many, its success at that larger scale indicates the potential of unionization to take hold of game companies of all sizes.
