Sega of America workers have ratified their union contract<p>Workers at Sega of America, a division of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., have officially ratified their union contract, <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-27/sega-workers-ratify-union-contract-first-at-a-major-gaming-company?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcxMTU1ODg0NiwiZXhwIjoxNzEyMTYzNjQ2LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTQjBOOEhEV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.g0mVRojsBI1gMbjfQZSYZ98fX9D8I5ynxWfVADgkpAg&sref=10lNAhZ9">
as reported by Bloomberg[/url]. This makes it one of the first major North American video-game companies to take this step, which could bode well for future organized labor pushes in the industry.</p>
<p>The contract was ratified after workers <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/sega-of-america-workers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-unionize-192839100.html">
overwhelmingly voted to unionize[/url] last year. It covers around 150 people working in various departments throughout the company, including brand marketing, games as a service, localization, sales and quality assurance. The union is called the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS-CWA) and it organizes with the <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/tag/cwa/">
Communications Workers of America[/url].</p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>There are already some provisions in place for workers as part of the contract, including a minimum pay increase of 4 percent in 2024, 3 percent in 2025 and 2.5 percent in 2026. There are also layoff protections, codified benefits like health insurance, a severance inclusion and a commitment to credit all workers on games.</p>
<p>“We’re hopeful that in the midst of extensive layoffs, workers across the video game industry will see organizing as a pathway to improve working conditions for all of us,” wrote Jasmin Hernandez, a member of AEGIS-CWA, in a statement provided to Engadget.</p>
<p>Sega wasn’t exactly happy about the push toward labor rights and unionization. The company faced an unfair labor practice complaint after it announced plans <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/sega-faces-unfair-labor-practice-complaint-for-planned-mass-layoff-of-union-members-073046095.html">
to lay off 40 percent[/url] of the union's bargaining unit. The company <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/sega-of-america-plans-to-lay-off-61-workers-180100573.html">
did lay off some of these people[/url], as promised, but the union was able to <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://slator.com/sega-of-america-layoffs-may-lead-gaming-giant-to-outsource-localization-qa/">reach an agreement[/url] to keep many workers employed. </p>
<p>Labor is having a moment in the games industry. ZeniMax Workers United joined with the CWA last year to <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-union-zenimax-vote-recognize-190529301.html">
offer union protection[/url] to 300 quality assurance workers. Over 600 Activision QA testers <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/raven-software-activision-blizzard-union-game-workers-alliance-195516977.html">
have joined a union[/url], making it the <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/activisions-union-with-600-members-is-now-the-biggest-one-in-video-games-143000869.html">
biggest worker-formed organization[/url] in video games. Avalanche Studios, Raven Software and several small development studios have all also unionized in the past year or so.</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/sega-of-america-workers-have-ratified-their-union-contract-185906593.html?src=rssSource:
Sega of America workers have ratified their union contract
