Sega Of America Employees Vote To Unionize, Now Largest Multi-Department Union In Games Industry

Update, 7/10/23:

The Sega of America union, AEGIS-CWA (Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega in partnership with the Communication Workers of America), has emerged victorious in its union election. Out of the votes cast, 91 were in favor of the union, while 26 were against it.

AEGIS-CWA now holds the distinction of being the largest multi-department union of organized workers in the entire gaming industry. The union expressed its excitement about the win on Twitter and stated its eagerness to enter into negotiations with Sega to further build the company.

The union election was held after Sega management chose not to acknowledge the union voluntarily.

Game Informer has reached out to Sega for a comment or statement regarding this development and will update the article if a response is received.

Update, 4/26/23:

Game Informer contacted Sega of America for their input on the union filing made by 144 employees on April 24, 2023. The response from Ian Curran, the president and COO of Sega of America, was sent to all employees of the company. The letter, reproduced in its entirety below, addressed the matter and provided information about the possible NLRB secret ballot election.

Dear Team Sega,

We received word yesterday that a petition has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by various SOA employees seeking union representation. Union matters are new to me and SOA, and we are investigating and considering the options available to the company. As I understand it, the petition filing means that the NLRB will conduct a secret ballot election several weeks down the road for employees who are in specific job classifications to be determined by the NLRB. These employees will be voting for or against union representation.

Some of you may support unionization and some not. That is your legal right. No SOA employee will be treated any differently whether they support or do not support unionization. We have a wonderful culture at SOA with a strong commitment to working together as a team. In my mind, it is the SOA employee culture that makes us such a successful company.

We will be updating you regularly so that you’re fully informed, understand what you can expect, and what the NLRB process is about. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Human Resources. We want all of your questions answered.

Thank you all for your continued efforts.

Original Story, 4/24/23:

Employees at Sega of America have taken steps to form a union.

The Verge has reported that a supermajority, consisting of 144 employees across Sega of America’s quality assurance, live service, localization, marketing, and product development departments in Irvine, California, have filed for unionization. The union, named Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS), is in collaboration with the Communications Workers of America and has lodged a formal union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board.

This new union has voiced its aim to advocate for better working conditions at its Irvine offices, stressing the importance of the employees having a say. They shared their vision for the future on Twitter using the hashtag #UnionizeSEGA.

The AEGIS union has released a detailed statement outlining its reasons for unionizing and its goals for its members. Full details of the statement can be found on their Twitter account.

The Verge interviewed two members of the union, and both individuals expressed their hopes that Sega of America and its Japanese parent company would voluntarily recognize the union. For further information on this unionization effort, refer to the complete story on The Verge.

Game Informer has contacted Sega of America for their comment on this development and will update the article if a response is received.

[Source: The Verge]