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CWA issues solidarity statement with SAG-AFTRA over strike

CWA issues solidarity statement with SAG-AFTRA over strike

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has put out a statement declaring its solidarity with striking SAG-AFTRA video game workers. 

The CWA says that it fully supports SAG-AFTRA in its push for "explicit, enforceable language" that protects against the use of AI in their fields. 

"The decision to go on strike is never an easy one and is always the result of management’s refusal to respect workers’ most pressing demands," the union wrote. 

"We, as workers at Activision, Bethesda Game Studios, Blizzard Entertainment, Sega of America, Tender Claws, ZeniMax, deeply understand how critical it is to protect our creative talent, and that doing so will strengthen the video game industry as a whole. It is our passion and labor that have enabled the video game industry to become one of the most profitable entertainment sectors globally.

"We, as fellow video game workers, recognise the power of collective action in raising standards for workers across the industry. We believe that a union contract is the most effective way for workers to establish protections against the potential risks of AI. That is why we are united in the struggle to establish protections against the misuse of technology, improve working conditions, address ongoing layoffs, and more for all video game workers. We call on all workers to stand with SAG-AFTRA members and encourage other video game workers to organise. Together, we can continue to produce high-quality video games for our fans and ensure our creativity and skill are protected." 

SAG-AFTRA announced last week that its video game members were going on strike. It does appear that some in-development projects and live-service titles are exempt from this industrial action, however. 


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.