COMP NEWS – Sega of America workers in Irvine, California have officially filed for a union vote in an effort to achieve better pay and benefits and “end patterns of overwork.”

Sega of America workers at the Irvine, California office filed for a union vote with the National Labor Relations Board, workers announced Monday. The union is called the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega — or AEGIS — and partnered with the Communications Workers of America. Its slogan, “to be this good takes AEGIS,” is a play on an old Sega tagline.

The unit currently includes 144 roles at the Irvine, California headquarters and across departments — marketing, games as a service, localization, product development, and quality assurance. The Sega of America Irvine office, which opened in 2022, houses up to 235 Sega of America employees. AEGIS-CWA is the first industry union at a major company to span multiple departments, something workers at Activision Blizzard attempted at Boston-based Proletariat earlier this year. The video game industry’s unionization push has largely been led by QA workers and indie studios; Tender Claws Human Union was among the first of these studios to span several departments.

The move to unionize comes shortly after Japan-based employees received a 30% salary increase. That pay raise did not extend to Sega of America workers.

Sega of America workers, who work on franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog and Persona, are looking to secure higher base pay for all unit members alongside raises that meet inflation levels, improved benefits, clearly outlined promotion and advancement plans, balanced schedules, and “adequate staffing” to “end patterns of overwork,” workers said.

Sega Sammy, which is the holding company for Sega and Sammy Corporation after the 2004 merger, announced in February that Japan-based employees would see a 30% salary increase “further stabilize employee income and create a more comfortable working environment, as well as to further strengthen its global competitiveness,” according to GamesIndustry.biz. The increase did not extend outside of Japan, and followed a pattern of wages increases from Japanese studios like Nintendo and Capcom.

Two Sega of America workers and union members told The Verge they hadn’t experienced union-busting from management; they’re hoping leadership will voluntarily recognize the union. A date hasn’t yet been set for the union election.

The game development industry has historically been rife with pressure and overworking, as brutal crunch periods leading up to major product releases are an industry standard. Since most developers are salaried, 50-70 hour work weeks that can last for months at a time usually give employees no additional pay.

Game workers across industries have been historically pushed to their limits through brutal crunch, low pay, and discrimination; it’s been well-documents for years in both lawsuits, on social media, and the press. Workers over the past few years have pushed back on all that, and are looking for a workforce reckoning and a place at the table to negotiate for their working rights. It’s a reflection of a wider movement in the United States as workers take on bosses at major corporations like eBay, Starbucks and Amazon.

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