CWA Launches Industry-Wide Video Game Union

Video game workers have launched the United Video Game Workers-CWA to help give them more of a say in their workplaces.

Yesterday, workers across the U.S. and Canada launched United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433 (UVW-CWA), a direct-join, industry-wide video game union in partnership with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). The union announced its launch at the 2025 Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, Calif., the world’s largest industry event for video game professionals, which draws tens of thousands of attendees. CWA members attended the launch, helped hand out an introductory zine with information about the union, and spoke on panels during the conference.

“Our mission is to take back our lives, our labor, and our passion from those who treat us like replaceable cogs,” reads UVW-CWA’s mission statement. “We are going to create a game industry that works for us, one that nourishes its talent and invests in its future, rather than constantly seeking short-term profits. We are the ones that make the games, so we must be the ones that set the terms of how we work.”

“The formation of United Video Game Workers-CWA is an exciting next step in our union’s work to help video game workers build power in their industry,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “As video game studios have consolidated, the workers whose creativity, dedication, and skill bring the games to life have become more of an afterthought. They are subject to endless cycles of layoffs and rehiring as corporate executives pursue short-term profits at the expense of a sustainable future.”

Video game workers and musicians in the United States and Canada who are interested in becoming members can apply here.

Follow UVW-CWA on Bluesky, X, and Instagram. Visit uvw-cwa.org for more information on campaign updates and membership opportunities.

---

This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.