To our comrades at United Wizards of the Coast - CWA

Congratulations on your public announcement! We, the workers of UVW-CWA, CWA Local 9433, are thrilled to hear the news. We are (obviously) huge fans of MTG Arena, but we are even prouder to stand in solidarity with you all as comrades in the struggle for video game worker rights.

Like you, we are feeling the drain on our wellbeing and livelihoods that these corporations are putting on us: they demand that we use Generative AI despite our vocal concerns of how these tools can be used to devalue our labor, they force us to crunch to meet deadlines with reckless disregard to our physical and mental health, they stifle our creativity by demanding ownership over our thoughts and ideas, and they mandate that we return to offices in expensive cities while offering us absolutely no assurance that after uprooting our lives, we’ll be able to keep our jobs. Like you, we are tired of struggling while we watch the companies we work for post record profits, shape the landscape of how games are made and sold, and continue to squeeze workers everywhere in order to make lines go up. And like you, we refuse to stay silent while we watch our colleagues suffer abuse and struggle under unrealistic demands placed on us by the boss. Instead, we stand strong and fight back, shouting our demands together so loudly that our bosses cannot ignore us. Like the workers that have come before us and will come after, we welcome you into this fight with overwhelming strength and compassion.

As you all have demonstrated, any and every worker can make positive change by organizing, standing side by side, and refusing to accept the status quo. The games industry is changing – because we, the workers, are demanding it to change. We are proud to stand beside you as you take on Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. And you are not alone – you are joining over 5,000 game workers who have organized for better working conditions. The power of the worker is like a huge pool of untapped mana… and when we tap that power through organizing, we will win!

In solidarity,

The over 500 members of the United Videogame Workers (UVW-CWA, CWA Local 9433)