“Wizards” Workers Cast Spell of Union Protection

On Tuesday, Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons team (Dungeons & Dragons, D&D Beyond) and Studio X (Magic: The Gathering, Duel Masters) announced their intent to form a union with CWA as part of United Wizards of the Coast-CWA (UWOTC-CWA). This announcement comes in the wake of the Magic: The Gathering Arena (MTG Arena) team’s successful union election this summer.

Both groups cited the same reasons for seeking to form a union, including mounting instability within Wizards and the gaming industry, a desire for fair compensation that reflects their work, clearly defined career progression, and more.

These teams have given management until Tuesday, October 13, to voluntarily recognize their union. To ensure a timely certification process, workers have also filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Joey Haeck, a member of UWOTC-CWA and senior game designer on Dungeons & Dragons, shared that they are organizing “because scared workers are neither happy nor productive. By organizing to negotiate a fair contract on issues of layoff protections, forced relocation protections, equitable pay and career advancement, mandatory AI use protections, parental support, and more, we make our game better by investing in our human creators and resisting the churn and brain drain caused by roller-coaster layoffs.”

Click here to show your support for these workers seeking a voice in their workplace.

 
Workers at game purveyor Wizards of the Coast met to celebrate the announcement of their intent to form a union. Despite having filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, workers remain hopeful that management will recognize their union voluntarily before the October 13 deadline.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.