Sega of America workers are forming a union

Workers at Sega of America have announced plans to form a union. A supermajority of workers based out of the company's headquarters in Irvine CA say they are forming a union with the Communication Workers of America — calling themselves the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega, or AEGIS-CWA.

“Working for Sega is a passion for many of us and it’s been so exciting to see that through organizing, we can make this work a sustainable long-term career," Sega QA lead and AEGIS member Mohammad Saman said in a statement. "By creating our union, AEGIS-CWA, we’ll have a say in the decisions that shape our working conditions and ensure the job security and working conditions we deserve. We’re excited to protect what already makes Sega great, and help build an even stronger company, together."

The fledgling union hopes that Sega will recognize the AEGIS-CWA voluntarily, but have also filed for a union representation election with the National Labor Relations Board. If the unionization goes forward, the group hopes to push for a higher base pay, improved benefits and measures that will help prevent "patterns of overwork" through better staffing.

Although the proposed union isn't the largest in the industry by numbers, it's among the most broad, covering 144 workers across Sega of America's localization, marketing, product development games as a service and quality assurance teams. Although it's the latest group of game workers to announce the formation of a union, it's also far from the first. In 2021, Vodeo Games became the first studio in North America to form a union before unfortunately shutting down the following year. Since then, multiple groups with Activision Blizzard voted to unionize. Microsoft is the home to the largest union in the video game industry today, with ZeniMax Workers United CWA representing about 300 employees.