Communications Workers of America (CWA) announce an industry-wide video game union

Great news for game developers and everyone involved in the industry that isn't at the top of the chain, as the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in partnership with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) have announced an industry-wide video game union.

Called the UVW-CWA (United Videogame Workers-CWA), their aim is to help protect workers rights, which is sorely needed, given the absolute masses of layoffs over the last few years, which still shows no real sign of stopping.

“The creation of this union was not done in isolation; it’s a cumulative effort by the thousands of video game workers who have been fighting for years to redefine what it means to stand together and reclaim power in one of the largest and highest-grossing industries on the globe,” said Tom Smith, CWA’s Senior Director of Organizing. “These workers are taking a bold stand, joining together to build power for the workers behind the games we all know and love.”

“Our mission is to take back our lives, our labor, and our passion from those who treat us like replaceable cogs; to empower our fellow workers; to link up arms with the laid off, with the freelancer, with the disillusioned contractor, with the disenfranchised and the marginalized, with the workers laboring invisibly to keep this industry afloat,” reads UVW-CWA’s mission statement. “We are going to create a game industry that works for us, one that nourishes its talent and invests in its future, rather than constantly seeking short-term profits. We are the ones that make the games, so we must be the ones that set the terms of how we work.”

See more in their news post. You can also follow the UVW-CWA website and their Bluesky account.