General Questions

What is UVW-CWA?

United Videogame Workers-CWA (UVW-CWA) is a dues-collecting direct-join organization made of, by, and for workers of the video game industry. We are a local of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Our mission is to democratically represent the interests of video game workers across the U.S. and Canada, and to fight for our rights in the video game industry.

Our union allows video game workers to present a unified front when dealing with studios and publishers. We are going to create an industry that works for us, one that nourishes its talent and invests in its future, rather than constantly seeking short-term profits. Individually we beg, united we win! 

Why are video game workers organizing?

The video game industry is not sustainable for its workers. We pour our hearts and souls into game development for less pay and worse hours than we could get in other fields, and with no say into how these games are produced and sold. What’s more, this industry is notorious for mass layoffs, mismanagement, unrealistic crunch deadlines, and bigoted culture. UVW-CWA finds all of these practices (and more) reprehensible and in need of change. Game studios take advantage of our passion and love of game making to make massive profits, all while viewing us—the workers who create the very games from which they profit—as disposable. 

We demand an industry free of harassment, with fair hours, fair pay, and not to be discarded at the whim of shareholders. We are not disposable, and our work should be respected. We, the workers, are not outnumbered—we’re just not organized. Yet. Let’s change this industry, together.

What is the structure of UVW-CWA?

Our direct-join union consists of an executive leadership elected by the members each year, standing committees and working groups responsible for managing specific roles and tasks within the organization, general members, and community supporters.

Members and community supporters are encouraged to join committees whose work interests them! A full list of committees and working groups and how to get involved will be provided as part of your onboarding.

Additionally, UVW-CWA is a local within the Communications Workers of America more broadly, and our members are voting members of the union as a whole.

What does it mean that UVW-CWA is “direct-join”?

A direct-join union means that UVW-CWA does not represent a single workplace, but rather, anyone in the video game industry. This differs from other union models, which organize workers in a single company or even a specific department or office. This means UVW-CWA seeks to make change directly through worker power and public leverage against the companies of our industry without the limitations of traditional labor law and collective bargaining rights.

Direct-join unionism, sometimes referred to as pre-majority unionism, has a long and powerful history in the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and beyond. In CWA, public sector workers, campus workers, and tech workers at Alphabet (Google’s parent company) have organized within this model. Historically, workers in the U.S. and Canada organized their unions  this way until their efforts resulted in the codified labor law we know today in the United States. Other countries also utilize direct-join unionism! 

By being direct-join, UVW-CWA is able to grow more easily, have a wider base of membership, and is not limited to the constraints of the certification process. We are organizing together to build power and resources to improve our lives, and that’s what makes our union. No company or government can say whether or not we have a union; we make our union a reality!

What does UVW-CWA do?

We are the union—so the short answer is, we get to decide what we do! Already, UVW-CWA has formed committees and working groups that handle projects and short-term campaigns, but we have long-term goals, too. For example, we aim to write the first Videogame Worker Bill of Rights to assert and protect the well-being of all of us in this industry.

Not only do we build community and solidarity amongst video game workers, we also strive to build large-scale education campaigns about labor organizing in the video game industry, provide legal support and layoff support funds for disenfranchised workers, write template contract standards, build professional development and mentorship programs within our community, and so much more. We get to decide how we want to change this industry, together!

Why not just organize a union at my workplace?

You absolutely should! We wholeheartedly encourage and support people who want to unionize their workplace. But sometimes people have trouble unionizing their workplace, or are a contractor/freelancer, or get laid off from the place they were organizing, or just don’t even know who else to talk to at their company. UVW-CWA exists for us to support each other while we push for industry-wide changes.

UVW-CWA also exists as a place to build your own skills as a worker-organizer and bring them back to your own workplace to organize.

Joining UVW-CWA

What is required to join?

Very little! Simply be a worker in the video game industry and apply here! Fill out the form with your personal information and payment information for your dues contribution. Members are required to pay dues, which are a minimum of $15 USD or 1% of salary or annual income, whichever is greater. 

Why collect dues?

By collecting dues, we can ensure that our union is able to self-fund our efforts and ensure it is worker-powered.

Employers have shown they are willing to spend fortunes to fight union organizing efforts, and they are extremely well resourced, organized, and disciplined. We need to be just as resourced, organized, and disciplined if we want to be able to take on such powerful corporations. By pooling together our money, we’re able to accomplish much more than any of us could do individually!

What are dues accomplishing?

Dues pay for resources for our membership, like staff organizers, lawyers, and communications experts, as well as allow us to fund the creation of materials, software we use to organize our efforts, training and education sessions, contributions to strike funds, providing legal support, and organizing campaigns.

The dues rate and use of dues are democratically set by the voting membership of our union. If there is something in particular you want to fund, join us and make it known! We can’t do it without you.

Will my boss find out I’ve joined? What will happen if they do?

No one will know you have joined our union except our organizing team once we process your application. No one will tell your boss you’re in our union. It is entirely your decision whether you wish to be a public member of our union.

That said, you can’t build a strong union in secret; our movement will need as many folks as possible to be confidently public in their support of our union over time. However, we have a lot of work to do to build towards having enough power and support so that you and your peers can be public in a safe and effective way that benefits the organizing campaign, not harms it. 

What happens after I fill out my membership form?

Once you fill out your membership application form, a member of the Membership Committee will review your application, and typically an organizer will reach out to talk with you and get to know you better. We also run group onboarding sessions where folks can learn more about our union and discuss how folks can get involved!

Membership

Who is membership open to?

Anyone who works in the video game industry in the United States and Canada can apply to join! If you work at a AAA, AA, or indie studio; if you work in mobile games; if you work at a publisher or a support studio; if you’re a full-time employee, freelancer, or a contractor; or any other kind of games worker, you can join our union.

U.S. or Canada-based visa holders, as well as permanent residents, are absolutely welcome to join and have the same protections as other workers in doing so!

Which disciplines are considered “video game workers”?

A “video game worker” may work in one or more of the following disciplines:

• Administration
• Analytics
• Animation
• Art
• Community Management
• Customer Service
• Design
• Engineering/Programming
• Finance
• IT
• Legal
• Localization
• Marketing
• Music
• Narrative/Writing
• Production/Project Management
• Publishing
• Quality Assurance (QA)
• Sound/Audio
• Technical Art
• UI/UX

NOTE: This list is non-exhaustive! If you don’t see your department/discipline here, but you consider yourself part of the video game industry, you should still apply to join our union.

If I live outside of the U.S. or Canada; can I join?

Currently our union is only open to workers based in the United States and Canada. 

If you reside outside of the United States or Canada, there are other sister organizations representing video game workers that you may be eligible to join. 

• United Kingdom: IWGB Game Workers
• France: STJV
• Czech Republic: ICT Union
• Spain: CSVI 
• Australia: Game Workers Australia
• South Korea: KCTU

There may be many other video game worker unions around the world who may not be listed here. If you don’t know what organization to reach out to for your region, we recommend contacting UNI Global Union or any of the organizations in this list for help.

I’m a contractor; can I join?

Yes! UVW-CWA’s goal is to support and fight alongside everyone in our industry! Membership includes not only regular full-time employees, but also contractors and freelancers in the video game industry.

I’m a student; can I join?

Yes! Students are eligible to join, though you may be subject to some limitations on committee membership and voting if you aren’t yet actively working in the games industry. Apply here, or get in touch to speak to someone in the Membership Committee for more information.

I’m a video game worker and I was laid off recently. Can I join?

Yes! We seek to organize the currently unemployed as well. There is a long and proud history of unemployed worker organizing, and we carry on that tradition. No video game worker left behind!

I’m an indie developer; can I join?

Yes! Indie developers can join if they are: 

1) a worker at an indie studio;

2) a worker-owner at a worker cooperative; 

3) a worker at a different studio who is developing a project independently on the side.

However, you may be subject to some limitations on committee membership and voting if you own your own studio or employ other workers directly. We encourage you to apply here or get in touch with someone in the Membership Committee! 

What if I’m already in a union or organizing at my workplace?

If you are already in a certified union with collective bargaining rights at the workplace, we encourage you to focus on that ongoing organizing work. That said, we do allow dual carding (joining our union, in addition to another) if you are able to and interested in contributing extra resources to our movement.

If you are in an active organizing campaign, but are not yet certified, you are also welcome to join if you want to go above and beyond in supporting the movement. We encourage you to focus on your immediate campaign needs!

I’m a Lead or a Producer; can I join?

Generally, yes, you can! In fact, the CWA already represents many lead-title workers and producers in certified bargaining units across the game industry.

However, if you have unilateral hire, fire, or discipline power over other workers at your company, you may not be eligible due to your potential status as a supervisor. This restriction does not apply to employees who can only weigh in on, but do not have final say on, hiring decisions.

Apply here and someone from the Membership Committee will talk to you about the specifics of your situation.

What do I get by joining?

By joining our union, you get to be a part of building a fighting movement for workers’ rights in the video game industry—you are joining the struggle! By coming together with others in our industry through our union, we can pool our collective strength, abilities, and resources to take on the massive corporations that dominate our industry and art form. 

By joining UVW-CWA, you will become a voting member in our union. You will help set the vision and direction for the labor movement in the video game industry. Additionally, our members will have access to things like legal support, assistance from professional organizers, training opportunities, and other community resources.