SEGA Of America Passes Vote To Become Unionized!
Image Source: Console Creatures
The entertainment world is currently dealing with a whole mess of strikes and negotiations, but the gaming sphere has just seen a victory in favor of its workers. SEGA of America employees have voted “yes” to officially forming a union and are now unionized under Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega, or AEGIS. The results of the vote were an overwhelming 91 in favor of AEGIS versus a small 26 against. This is a huge victory for the video game giant and gaming as a whole, as this unit will cover over 200 roles at SEGA of America, including those in quality assurance, localization, games as a service, marketing, and product development, making AEGIS the first video game union to span multiple departments. SEGA of America translator Ángel Gómez had this to say regarding the decision:
“We are overjoyed to celebrate our union election win as members of AEGIS-CWA…From the start of this campaign, it has been clear that we all care deeply about our work at SEGA. Now, through our union, we’ll be able to protect the parts of our jobs we love, and strengthen the benefits, pay, and job stability available to all workers. Together we can build an even better SEGA. We hope our victory today is an inspiration to other workers across the gaming industry. Together, we can raise standards for all workers across the industry.”
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Though the union still has to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board before it can move into bargaining, this is still a massive win for SEGA and the games industry as a whole. AEGIS follows the push for unionization in the games industry that has been largely spearheaded by indie studios. SEGA itself is headquartered in Japan but has branches across the globe. SegaSammy, the holdings corporation for SEGA and Sammy, gave its employees a 30% pay raise in February, but this only applied to their Japanese workers. AEGIS hopes to secure a base pay increase as well as improved working conditions for SEGA of America workers. With this victory, the future of the house of Sonic and more is looking bright.
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