Tech Workers Coalition

This year, over three days in late March, four members of TWC Bay Area attended the Game Developer Conference (GDC). Every year, GDC brings over 30,000 workers in the videogame industry to San Francsico to showcase the latest innovations and lead industry talks. We were there to observe and learn about organizing in the videogame industry, through worker-led panels and Communication Workers of America (CWA) organizers. CWA’s presence at GDC included over fifty organizers, a booth stuffed with zines and buttons, three panels, and a big announcement.

The news: every game worker in the US and Canada can now join United Videogame Workers, a direct-join, industry-wide union.

Game studios, like tech companies and startups, vary in size. It’s not uncommon for a small studio to shut down before a union campaign succeeds, and for bosses to shut down a studio and lay off all of the workers after a game is released. The direct-join union is one way for workers to stand together, whether they work at a big-name studio with hundreds of millions in budget, an indie co-op, are a contractor, or are laid off.

The union launched at a panel on Wednesday, March 19th, with workers and full-time organizers sharing their experiences in union campaigns in individual studios. After the talk, we chanted and marched down a set of escalators, through the convention hall, and into Yerba Buena Gardens. Through our march and a series of speeches outside, we let other game workers know there was a union in town. One call and response went:

“Does your boss know how to write a game design doc?” / “No!”
“Who does?” / “We do!”

“Does your boss know how to write a shader” / “No!”
“Who does?” / “We do!”

(Game design documents describe the world of the game, the characters’ values, and the mechanics of player interactions. It’s a collaboration between artists and developers without which a game would not exist. Shaders are graphics programs that run on a GPU, and require deep technical knowledge.)

Amid the cheers of the crowd, there were also sheepish admissions of the difficulty of writing a shader.

In a panel on Friday March 21st, workers that won unions and contracts walked us through their campaigns. Organizing committee members described the anxiety of early 1:1s, of asking people they didn’t know to call on their personal phones or meet by the elevator, and how after some practice, these conversations became easier. Turns out most coworkers were open to some form of collective action, and even those that were initially anti-union appreciated that folks were doing something. Remote organizing wasn’t necessarily harder, it just came with its own set of pros and cons. Discord servers served as off-site gathering places.

In the US, employers are required to negotiate any layoffs with the union, even before a formal contract. In the panel, workers spoke proudly about how they were able to save contractor jobs from being cut just weeks after they won their election. On top of protections from layoffs and a requirement that workers evaluate any new AI tools before adopting them, one hard-won contract included coverage for dental braces. Braces are almost never covered by dental benefits, showing the kinds of unexpected but necessary things workers can win when they stand together.

The overall feeling in the room was of inspiration - that the successful union campaigns at Microsoft-owned Blizzard, at the indie studio Tender Claws, and at Google and Kickstarter are all evidence that across the game and tech industries, workers are winning.

Outside of the panels and conversations with CWA organizers, we explored the Expo Hall and attended a handful of other talks. ctrl+alt+GDC - the part of the Expo Hall floor dedicated to experimental user interfaces - was filled with builds akin to interactive art installations. We learned that seesaws, knitting needles, and showers can be game controllers. In a talk on games research, one researcher measured the degree to which non-heterosexual folks feel represented by the romantic relationship options in games like Baldur’s Gate 3 - it’s better than it used to be, but not perfect. Another researcher shared how they used decolonial theory to build a game that honored Chilean indigenous history.

As we reflect on our first GDC, we’re excited to continue building coalitions and connecting with United Videogame Workers and other unions. We have a lot in common with videogame workers. We are honored to stand with them at the launch of their union, to learn from their organizing, and to be energized by their effort. The mid-week rally inspired us to think more about our presence and signage at this year’s May Day march, the history of the movement, and how we can continue to stand in solidarity with all workers.