Game Workers Unite - Organization Aiming to Build a Unionized Game Industry Debuts At GDC

[the-pi-guy]

This is from Monday.
Game Workers Unite - Organization Aiming to Build a Unionized Game Industry Debuts At GDC | ResetEra

 

GDC roundtable on unionization is about to start. John Brindle will be live tweeting the discussion.Click to expand...

Starting to see this pop up in a couple of my feeds; seems to have debuted along with GDC.https://www.gameworkersunite.org/

WHY WE ARE ORGANIZING Have you ever felt exploited by the game industry? Are you in a precarious situation? No job stability and in desperate need of support? Are you losing hope that you can work in a landscape you love at all? Welcome to Game Workers Unite! We are a currently-forming anonymous and horizontal organization of people dedicated to advocating for workers' rights and the crafting of a unionized games industry. We represent all workers in game development and we seek to increase the visibility of our cause through community building, sharing resources, and direct action. We seek to bring hope to and empower those suffering in this industry.Click to expand...

Game Workers Unite is attending GDC 2018 and has several direct action campaigns planned.Click to expand...

Site seems to still be coming together but at the moment they're soliciting stories of exploitation and harassment at game studios and passing out materials at GDC. I'm sure we'll get more info as the week continues. Couple stories coming in with that hashtag already. Open in Twitter to read the whole thread.  

[Legend]

If this happens, you can almost guarantee the industry will use it as a fake excuse to add more microtransactions  

[darkknightkryta]

Good.  On another question, how do unions come about?  Like how do the businesses not fire everyone?  Like I know it does happen, but like for current unions.

[Xevross]

Well this could be a great thing if it works well and has the right intentions.

[the-pi-guy]

Good.  On another question, how do unions come about?  Like how do the businesses not fire everyone? Like I know it does happen, but like for current unions.

Some do.  Walmart completely shut down a store, and moved out of a town because the manager and many employees were creating a union.  

Some other companies don't really have that option.  Or the employees are worth more than their union is basically asking for.  
For Walmart: one store out of 1000's, not really worth it.  And it'd set a precedent for other stores to do the same thing.  Very dangerous for walmart.  

But take Sony, if ND were to unionize, they'd likely meet any demands they had.  You don't want to lose your cash cow.

[darkknightkryta]

Some do.  Walmart completely shut down a store, and moved out of a town because the manager and many employees were creating a union.  

Some other companies don't really have that option.  Or the employees are worth more than their union is basically asking for.  
For Walmart: one store out of 1000's, not really worth it.  And it'd set a precedent for other stores to do the same thing.  Very dangerous for walmart.  

But take Sony, if ND were to unionize, they'd likely meet any demands they had.  You don't want to lose your cash cow.

So how do larger unions get made?  Like if that one Walmart store made a union how would that work?

[the-pi-guy]

So how do larger unions get made?

Depends on the Union.  The teachers union was chartered by the government here.  
Most of them are probably organized similarly to a big company or more accurately an activist group.  You have smaller groups that report to higher up groups.  That kind of thing.  

[darkknightkryta]

Depends on the Union.  The teachers union was chartered by the government here.  
Most of them are probably organized similarly to a big company or more accurately an activist group.  You have smaller groups that report to higher up groups.  That kind of thing.  

But I mean, for that walmart store, if they were successful.  Wouldn't it just be a bunch of people who strike when they get fed up?  Do they eventually have to tell the government they're forming a union?  Then from there they get bigger?  Would they go around "threatening" other stores?