Magic: The Gathering Arena developers intend to form a union with the CWA
Developers of Magic: The Gathering Arena at Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary, are moving to form a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to gain more influence over layoffs, workplace equity, and compensation. The union chapter, United Wizards of the Coast (UWOTC-CWA), has secured a supermajority of employee support and filed for a formal election with the National Labor Relations Board, pending voluntary recognition by Hasbro by May 1st. Workers cite concerns over job security, remote work policies, AI use, and mandatory overtime as key motivations. This effort is part of a broader unionization trend in the video game industry led by the CWA.
- ▪Magic: The Gathering Arena developers at Wizards of the Coast are seeking to unionize under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as United Wizards of the Coast (UWOTC-CWA).
- ▪The CWA has filed for a National Labor Relations Board election but will withdraw it if Hasbro voluntarily recognizes the union by May 1st.
- ▪Workers are advocating for job security, protections against mandatory crunch time, remote work rights, and guardrails on generative AI.
- ▪The union push follows mass Hasbro layoffs in 2023 that affected nearly 2,000 employees.
- ▪Over 4,000 game industry workers have organized under CWA’s CODE initiative, including teams at Blizzard and ID Software.
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