10 votes

An open letter to game developers from America's largest labor organization

9 comments

  1. [4]
    alyaza
    Link
    the idea of unionization in the gaming industry has really picked up steam in the past year, and no doubt this tacit acknowledgment by the AFL-CIO of that idea is going to lend quite a bit of...

    the idea of unionization in the gaming industry has really picked up steam in the past year, and no doubt this tacit acknowledgment by the AFL-CIO of that idea is going to lend quite a bit of legitimacy to efforts to make the idea of powerful game dev (and game worker) unions a reality in the near future.

    4 votes
    1. [3]
      NaraVara
      Link Parent
      This could be big. If you get a game-dev union off the ground I don't think a general software dev union would be far behind. It'll be interesting though. Lines between "labor" and "management"...

      This could be big. If you get a game-dev union off the ground I don't think a general software dev union would be far behind.

      It'll be interesting though. Lines between "labor" and "management" get a lot fuzzier in knowledge industries. Especially in small companies. My role at a software company can span the responsibilities of a line manager but also have me dabbling in C-Suite level responsibilities.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        alyaza
        Link Parent
        probably. but i do suspect that a general software development union would run into much stronger, more organized resistance than game dev unions will, since software development is quite a broad...

        This could be big. If you get a game-dev union off the ground I don't think a general software dev union would be far behind.

        probably. but i do suspect that a general software development union would run into much stronger, more organized resistance than game dev unions will, since software development is quite a broad field and is probably going to come into conflict with the behemoths of google and apple and the rest of them in some way or another.

        3 votes
        1. NaraVara
          Link Parent
          Game development is not that much bigger or broader than software development as a whole. The main differentiator is the customer base. Games are strictly B2C while software has a big B2B...

          Game development is not that much bigger or broader than software development as a whole. The main differentiator is the customer base. Games are strictly B2C while software has a big B2B component that drives decision making.

          come into conflict with the behemoths of google and apple and the rest of them in some way or another.

          All human progress in the next century is going to have to come into conflict with those behemoths in one way or another. That's just what happens when you put yourself in a position where you hoard damn near everything while not being accountable to any of the people affected by your decisions.

          1 vote
  2. [5]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      NaraVara
      Link Parent
      As far as "white collar" or "knowledge work" type industries go, the journalism industry has also been able to make some headway, with several high-profile digital media channels organizing...

      As far as "white collar" or "knowledge work" type industries go, the journalism industry has also been able to make some headway, with several high-profile digital media channels organizing lately. Gawker media is a good example, I believe Vox has recently unionized as well. There was also a very well publicized episode a few years ago where the Gothamist network (local digital news for major metros) unionized and the owner promptly shut the whole enterprise down in a fit of pique over it. I think this might have actually been one of hte big motive forces behind other digital media companies organizing.

      They didn't like the idea that the companies they worked to help build could sell out to a billionaire who wanted a vanity press outlet just to have it being able to dictate terms to them. Journalism has it's own culture and sense of institutional norms/mores so they can react very strongly when they are violated.

      The SEIU has, so far, been the most successful labor organization to dramatically expand its membership in the modern day. Their main hurdle is the fact that so much of the people they would like to organize are at the mercy of predatory law-enforcement practices, especially around the immigration system whose agents, often, actually just want an excuse to throw you out rather than being motivated by any sincere desire to enforce "the law." Where this intersects with gaming is that a lot of software development depends on leveraging the exploitative elements of the USA's visa system. Lots of coders, artists, etc. are very reluctant to push against their management knowing that if they get laid off they can get deported and have to uproot their families.

      5 votes
    2. alyaza
      Link Parent
      the most recent example that i can find of a wholesale formation of a new union (instead of just a merger of pre-existing ones) is the communications workers of america, who formed in 1947, so,...

      the most recent example that i can find of a wholesale formation of a new union (instead of just a merger of pre-existing ones) is the communications workers of america, who formed in 1947, so, the answer to that would appear to be that it's been awhile since something like this had the possibility of happening. virtually all american unions, even ones founded by merger, are ancient. the most recent merger was in 2004 when UNITE and HERE became UNITE HERE--and before that you have to go back to 1979 to find the next most recent example of a merger.

      1 vote
    3. moocow1452
      Link Parent
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_labor_unions_in_the_United_States According to Wiki, the latest of the large Unions was Unite Here in 2004, but that's more of a Voltron of smaller groups,...

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_labor_unions_in_the_United_States

      According to Wiki, the latest of the large Unions was Unite Here in 2004, but that's more of a Voltron of smaller groups, so it has been a while.

      1 vote
  3. demifiend
    Link
    This is a good start, but why is the AFL-CIO only reaching out to game developers? The abuses that plague game development are endemic to the entire tech industry: low pay relative to CEOs...

    This is a good start, but why is the AFL-CIO only reaching out to game developers? The abuses that plague game development are endemic to the entire tech industry:

    • low pay relative to CEOs
    • mandatory unpaid overtime
    • discriminatory hiring practices (hiring for culture fit)

    Also, the AFL-CIO needs to start organizing developers with H1B visas. If guest workers aren't unionized, they'll be the scabs that replace US citizen developers when they finally decide to down tools and walk out.