Sega's union is now official

[Pariah_Dark]

Sega's union is now official and currently the biggest in the U.S.

 

https://thelastgamestandingexp.com/sega-employees-officially-have-a-union/

[Helyx]

Quote

Today something special has happened that will benefit the entire industry. Sega, one of the older video game companies workers has officially unionized. And they’re now the largest video game union in the United States. Their official name is AEGIS-CWA. For many people, they may see this as no big deal. But if you delve deeper, this will have huge ramifications for the entire industry.

 

What makes this one special is that unlike many of the video game unions, which only seem to cover the Q&A workers, this one seems to have a much broader scope. Needless to say, more employees are protected. Now we have to wait and see what kind of results they bring in an industry rife with crunch culture, underpaying, and bullying pressure.

 

Source: The Verge

 

[Eraezr]

I think the subsidiary Atlus West is trash because of the half-hearted/toxic altruism localisation with P5 and the near non-existent marketing for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim outside of NA. They do not deserve to be the ambassador node for English speaking fans worldwide.

 

That said, I do hope the ramifications of this displaces people like Bobby Kotick, out of power and incriminated.

[You]

So now if SEGA are making a bad Sonic game, the staff are legally allowed to walk out and go on strike in protest?

[shadaik]

3 hours ago, enaysoft said:

So now if SEGA are making a bad Sonic game, the staff are legally allowed to walk out and go on strike in protest?

Against themselves? Nah, whenever that happens, they go sit in a corner and think of what they done.

[MidnightDragon]

If it ends abusive practices like crunch, I’m all for it. 

[Infected Elite]

Unions have ups and downs. If it works out for them, great, if not, then it is what it is. 

[Xillynoc]

Unions are based, good for them! Now let's do one for ActiBlizz

[EcoShifter]

(Title and definitely OP could use should have a much bigger expansion of official information, especially considering how significant this topic appears to be.)

 

8 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

So now if SEGA are making a bad Sonic game, the staff are legally allowed to walk out and go on strike in protest?

 

*rushing a Sonic game while also having insufficient manpower (two commonly recurring issues that's been plaguing the series). However, the union is for Sega of America, not Sega of Japan whom are the ones who actually develops the games.

 

On a closely related topic, Sega has already taken other good actions for/affecting the series before the formation of the AEGIS-CWA union and its potential future impact with the franchise. These things include opening new hiring positions for future Sonic games (a week) following Sonic Frontiers's launch last year, the increase of employee salaries (roughly 30%) in Japan this year, implied increased manpower and funding for future Sonic games partly thanks to Sonic Frontiers greatly exceeding sale expectations, and Sonic Frontier's revolutionary 1-Year Free Substantial Content Roadmap plan currently in effect.

[RadiantFlamberge]

I'm open to the idea. Just as Hollywood has SAG-AFTRA and WGA, there should be something of the sort for the video game industry employees.

 

All this BS such as crunch needs a stop put to it. And bullying? A two strike rule is what I think it should be. When someone is hired, management should lay the cards on the table about their bullying policy. Should an employee be guilty of one instance of bullying, give them a severe disciplinary action (3 weeks suspension, for example) and warn them that the next time will result in being let go.

Edited July 29, 2023 by RadiantFlamberge

[Z1MZUM]

Unions in my country are generally run by criminals

[The Ordinary Bloke]

1 hour ago, Z1MZUM said:

Unions in my country are generally run by criminals

So are video game companies and any other corporate entity.

Edited August 3, 2023 by ExoCyberdemon

[TJ_Solo]

On 7/11/2023 at 0:26 PM, MidnightDragon said:

If it ends abusive practices like crunch, I’m all for it. 

 

Unions don't end either optional or mandatory overtime when business needs happen. They may or may not but a cap on how many hours can be worked in a day or week beyond what is already legally limited but that's about it.

 

"Crunch" is a pervasive term against making games right? What games do SEGA of America make?

Edited August 3, 2023 by TJ_Solo

[Z1MZUM]

20 hours ago, ExoCyberdemon said:

So are video game companies and any other corporate entity.

 

I'm talking murderers, I'm talking real crims. Different to Epstein and Kotick criminals but still dogshit people.

[shadaik]

23 hours ago, Z1MZUM said:

Unions in my country are generally run by criminals

It's embarassingly easy to crack an Australia joke right there.

[Z1MZUM]

56 minutes ago, shadaik said:

It's embarassingly easy to crack an Australia joke right there.

 

I'd learn to spell before you do.

[shadaik]

37 minutes ago, Z1MZUM said:

 

I'd learn to spell before you do.

You found a minor typo, have a badge.

[sepheroithisgod]

There are pros and cons to unions. I do think game devs are being exploited by companies, so this might help, but this needs to be a widespread thing. It's also worth pointing out that this could just make America a bad place to have dev teams outside of small localization teams. Have to see how it plays out, but I'm willing to bet that crunch never ends. The demand for games is very high and these companies need titles that actually come out in a specified period for their quarterly earnings.

[Z1MZUM]

On 8/4/2023 at 7:57 PM, shadaik said:

You found a minor typo, have a badge.

Lol thanks, I was born in Australia though my affiliation is just that. I would honestly not be bothered and probably laugh at what ever it was you where going to say about this crap country even though by default older people tend to steer away from comments about other nations coming from Germany. btw, both my parents are German and it is a country I love as long as you can try to ignore the interesting history. Let's face it though, Poland has better gas stations, lovely schnitzel.

 

Take the piss out of Australia, I want to hear it.

[shadaik]

A bit too late now, but not actually making the joke kinda was the joke because the actual joke would have been too obvious to be funny.

 

In short, Australia famously started out as a penal colony, so the punchline is that basically everything is run by criminals.

[Z1MZUM]

19 hours ago, shadaik said:

A bit too late now, but not actually making the joke kinda was the joke because the actual joke would have been too obvious to be funny.

 

In short, Australia famously started out as a penal colony, so the punchline is that basically everything is run by criminals.

 

Oh fair enough, The nation is full of non British people now and where I am from started with Irish crims. Now there is still allot of shitty people who are tied to the police. politicians and media which I think relates to what you are saying. I think this is global though I see allot more freedom in Europe, Asia and North America then I will ever see here. In short we don't have choices as civilians, it all about our politicians and their lies, If only they where smarter? idk, couldn't care less if Australia sank into the pacific.

 

I was hoping for something a bit more offensive but never mind.

[shadaik]

1 hour ago, Z1MZUM said:

I was hoping for something a bit more offensive but never mind.

Hehe, sorry to disappoint.