Video game workers in Quebec, under the banner Game Workers Unite Montreal, are partnering with Canadian union Confedédération des syndicatsnationaux (CSN) to shape the industry for the better. Together, they are launching a union effort to form a province-wide union for video game workers based in Quebec. According to GWU Montreal, Quebec is home to about 15,000 employees at studios such as Behavior Interactive, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games, Electronic Arts and Gameloft, making it a hotbed for the industry and its workers. .
Together, they want to make all studios, not just one or two, better places to work. “The general public loves games and consumes them every day, but they have no idea how they're made or who makes them,” game writer Marie told Polygon. Ta. (Marie requested that only her first name be used because her employer does not know they are organizing.)
Although Game Workers Unite has long operated as a democratic workers' organization, it was not itself a union. Now things have changed. Under the CSN, members of Game Workers Unite Montreal (not just in Montreal but across Quebec) will have access to more resources. CSN president Caroline Seneville told Polygon that workers will join separate unions tied to studios, and each union will negotiate with its own employer.
“This structure will ensure the development of a sense of solidarity between studios, the sharing of collective knowledge and collaboration on common issues,” Senneville said. “Members will be able to jointly decide which demands will be brought together while guaranteeing the autonomy of local members. Statewide unions will have more power as workers form larger groups. This is beneficial for all studios, but especially for smaller studios.”
According to Marie, there's a lot to like about the video game industry. It's a young, modern field filled with passionate and creative people. “But perhaps people don't know that the industry is on fire,” they said, referring to the mass layoffs and studio closures that have plagued the industry in recent years. Approximately 10,000 people were laid off this year alone. This is coupled with harsh workloads, low wages, tight working hours, and in some cases physical and psychological abuse. Rida Hamdani, who previously worked in quality assurance, told Polygon that job security is a big issue in the sector. When she works on a contract, she may have work one week and no work the next.
With CSN, GWU Montreal will become a bigger destination and help. “What are the standards for working conditions?” Hamdani said. “What are labor laws? Is this normal? This is all we have been working on for a long time, but with CSN we are making sure that workers in the gaming industry have access to that information and their rights. It makes it easier to get legal help to know.”
It also has the ability to negotiate union contracts, allowing workers to use this information to make real change.
It's easy to separate workers from the product (in this case, video games), but Murray and Hamdani hope a union push will help humanize the industry. They want players to understand that unionizing not only affects workers and their lives, but also the game itself. Supporting other human beings' rights to safe and fair work is not only the ethically right thing to do; This will also have an impact on the games being produced.
“If the industry continues as it has in the past few years, with mass layoffs resulting in studios closing and game projects being canceled, it will be a huge loss for players,” Murray said. “It's in players' interest to learn how games are made. Who makes them and under what circumstances? This is a creative industry, and this industry relies on the backs of its workers. Masu.”
“The people who make the games should be respected as much as the games themselves,” Hamdani said.
