United Videogame Workers-CWA

@videogameworkers.bsky.social

6438 Followers 99 Following

We are United Videogame Workers, an industry-wide union working to build a game industry that works for us. ✊🏽✊🏿✊🏼✊🏾 Affiliated with CWA and CODE-CWA. JOIN US: https://uvw-cwa.org/membership

A screenshot of the Game Industry Hardship Fund on itch that shows we have raised over 152k as of the afternoon of August 5th
A message from United Videogame Workers, a Code-CWA Union, part 1: A statement from Aurelia Augusta - President, UVW-CWA Local 9433: The response to the Hardship Fund has been so awe-inspiring and so great that it's honestly made it difficult to write a statement because every time I look away, the total amount raised by the itch bundle leaps forward yet again and I find a few more tears of joy on my face.
Yakko Warner looking at his phone in exhaustion and disgust
A screenshot from the itch page for the game industry hardship bundle, showing that more than thirteen thousand dollars has already been raised out of the total 100k goal
A row of fish from SpongeBob staring at the camera in disappointment or perhaps due to being deeply unimpressed
A screenshot of a YouTube video called 10 Hours of Jingling Keys
EGG IS BIGGER THAN BEFORE
The READ THIS poster from the Band Geeks episode of Spongebob that has been poorly photoshopped to say: Looking for a way to spend an hour or two on a Sunday? Angry at the state of the industry but not sure what you can do to help? Union curious but have lots of questions or feel lost? Come to free, virtual seminars held by CWA! Visit code-cwa.org/upcoming-trainings
An illustration, done in a flat graphic style depicting a menacing executive with a sickly smile, towering over scores of downtrodden workers carrying boxes of their belongings out of frame. Below, a call to action: SAVE OUR DEVS JULY 15 - Rallies across US & Canada END MASS LAYOFFS NOW Dallas, Texas (Richardson) - Id Software Austin, Texas - Id Software Montréal, Quebec - Bethesda Games Studio Montréal Rockville, Maryland - Bethesda Softworks Irvine, California - Obsidian Entertainment
ok well dont ponder yourself into stagnation, diva! u got this
A red poster with a white logo (a polygonal heart lifted by 2 hands) and the title "United Videogame Workers – Hardship Fund", followed by this copy: "UVW-CWA stands for every game worker: for those still employed and fighting for union contracts and those who have been callously treated as disposable by executives who've never shipped a title. We are proud to announce our launch of a hardship fund for game workers across the US and Canada who have been subjected to layoffs. If you are a game worker in need of support, please apply." Below the text is a link to the initiative (as in the post) and the UVW-CWA logo.
People drying their eyes/crying into money
The Pinkerton Detective Agency, as depicted in Red Dead Redemption 2
How much are union busters paid? Union busters charge exorbitant fees for their services. A typical rate is $2,500 per day or $300 per hour for each consultant, plus travel and expenses paid. That’s more money in a day than many workers make in a month. However, those rates are in the low or middle range. Greer Consulting, a well-known firm, charges $4,000 per day or $475 per hour (plus expenses). LRI Consulting Services, which has been called the “nexus” of the industry, charges a standard rate of $425 per hour. Larger campaigns can use many consultants and rack up enormous bills. For example, in a campaign against the UAW in Canton, Michigan, the auto-parts company GNS North America hired six union busters, each charging $300 per hour. By any estimate, for a monthlong campaign, the bill would come to nearly $300,000. A campaign by The Labor Pros at a Hilton hotel in McLean, Virginia, hired 12 consultants and lasted 11 months. Assuming they charged $300 per hour (they didn’t disclose their rate), the campaign would have raked in $7 million. In one case, LRI Consultants offered a “guaranteed option” — if the union won the NLRB election, the firm would return the full $50,000 price of the package.
Flyer for the 2026 May Day march May 1 at McArthur Park, on Parkview & Wilshire Organized by the LA County Federation of Labor Follow the May Day coalition at https://instagram.com/lamayday2026/
United Videogame Workers, CWA Los Angeles Chapter May local events schedule May 1, 10 AM: May Day March McArthur Park @ Parkview & Wilshire LA Members, check your emails for Signal invite May 16 12-3 PM, Chapter Social Food, Friends, & Fpraxis Virtual & In-person Hybrid LA Members, check your emails for RSVP! May 23, 12-4 PM: Game Workers Conference Watch Party Burbank, Koreatown, Orange County, Santa Monica
Norman Rockwell "free speech" meme
A screenshot of a tweet from the Kotaku article attached, reading "while people who have never built a business sit and spread FUD to farm a few views - targeting the biggest web3 game ever created, a game that represents not only itself but the entire web3 gaming industry in front of traditional gaming - we will keep (message is cut off)". He then links the Fast Company Most Innovative Gaming Companies of 2026, which United Videogame Workers is a part of.
Uni the cat meme saying “this cannot continue”
UVW-CWA secretary Kaitlin Bonfiglio offered a succinct response. "Sell your fucking yachts," she said. "You don't need five yachts."
The problem here isn’t developers at Red Storm or Crystal Dynamics–it’s the people at the top foisting the consequences of their bad decision-making and endless hunger for profit off on their employees. How many go-arounds of trying to cut their ways to profitability do companies need to try before they realize “too many people making games” isn’t the problem they’re having?
Video game workers leading a town hall at the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Video of workers with a trending TikTok audio in front of it
A picture of UVW and CWA swag available at the booth
The CODE-CWA/UVW booth!
Voice actor Erika Ishii's speech during the 2026 DICE Awards.
A stock photo of a mother putting a basket of toys up on the highest shelf of a children's playroom. A child next to her pouts, looking up at the off-limits toys.
Image that reads "video game and tech workers deserve unions" created with a Pokopia Font Logo Generator
A quote on a black background with a crowd of cartoon raised hands at the bottom. The quote reads, "I was laid off twice in the past year, despite nearly 20 years in the industry, lots of references and contacts, and many people claiming they’re eager to speak well of me."
A quote on a black background with a crowd of cartoon raised hands at the bottom. The quote reads, "I’ve been laid off 12 months after moving my family to another continent."
A cat looking vaguely disgusted and angry
BRASS TAXES FREE KNOWLEDGE on TAX MANAGEMENT for FREELANCERS. Hosted by UVW-CWA. Open to all. Learn some tips and tricks to get ahead of the season. WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11TH 10 AM Pacific/1pm Eastern. Hosted on Zoom.
BLACK IN GAMING LA Blerd Brews LAID BACK COMMUNITY MIXER Celebrate 100 years of Black history with BIG LA at our community mixer for Black devs, artists, and creators! Bring your favorite black-owned or black-created card, tabletop, or video game to help us build the space, and pull up for our community clothing and food drive. THE DETAILS: 🗓️ When: Sunday, Feb 8th 🕚 Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM 📍 Where: Palm Grove Social (4660 W Washington Blvd)
UVW-CWA stands in support of our fellow workers as they experience vicious and illegal violence at the hands of the United States’ Department of Homeland Security. We condemn all state violence against the working population who are legally observing and demonstrating. We stand in support of ICU nurses of Minneapolis who have tragically and senselessly lost one of their fellow workers to the hands of this authoritarian administration. Rest in power, Alex Jeffrey Pretti American Federation of Government Employees Local 3669 Solidarity forever!
South America is home to a vibrant, talented community of game developers, responsible for creating some of the most exciting independent titles while supporting the work of studios globally. They are our colleagues, friends, family, and comrades. The concerns of workers, like video games themselves, are international, with relationships and hopes that span continents and oceans. We stand with Venezuelans against the violent transgressions on their country, and with all Latin American video game workers as they endure the imperial aggression that interferes with their communities and their craft. Our struggles are intertwined. While the US government extracts other nations' resources to serve elite economic interests, it erodes the living conditions of its people and undermines their ability to oppose it. While we urge our members in the US and Canada to call their representatives to demand an end to imperialist aggression, we cannot yield the responsibility of fighting imperialism to those most complicit in upholding it. Instead, we must organize and build lasting power alongside our union siblings in every industry to fight it ourselves.
Horse on beach says “man,”
A picture of the “the industry is dead” flier outside of the peacock theater in LA
A red Among Us blowup costume wearing a UVW t-shirt
A picture of a costume of the grim reaper
THE INDUSTRY IS DEAD leaflet. Visit UVW-CWA.org!
Workers struggle to carry an oversized trophy as sinister ghostly hands swirl around them trying to claim it. THE GAME INDUSTRY IS DEAD: A VIGIL @ THE PEACOCK THEATER, DEC. 11th 2025, 2-4 PM WE NEED ANSWERS FOR ALL THE LAYOFFS WHILE VIDEO GAME COMPANIES TURN MASSIVE PROFIT
The award for Players' Unpopular Choice Award goes to TIM SWEENEY, CEO of Epic Games
The workers' unpopular choice award winner is ANDREW WILSON, CEO of EA Games
The award for Most Workers Laid Off goes to the Embracer Group, for laying off 7800 workers in the past two years
The award for most studios closed goes to both tencent and microsoft, who are tied for first having closed five studios each
The Workers' Choice Award for Worst Crunch Culture goes to NAUGHTY DOG
The award for "Worst Statement Made by an Executive About Their Community" goes to MATT TURNER of Xbox
The Mark Zuckerberg Award for Most Expensive Boondoggle goes to Mark Zuckerberg
The Players' Choice award for "Most Corporate Speak in a Layoff Announcement" goes to SATYA NADELLA AGAIN
The Workers' Choice awards for Most Corporate Speak in a Layoff Announcement goes to SATYA NADELLA
The Iron Grip on Power award goes to TIM SWEENEY
The award for "Most Disappointing Sunset Game" goes to HYPER LIGHT BREAKER
The award for "Saddest Project We Never Saw Released" goes to BLACK PANTHER by Cliffhanger Games
The winner of "most personally-owned stock sold by a gaming CEO" goes to STRAUSS ZELNICK
A stained glass-style depiction of The Game Awards trophy, emerging from a bank safe with green bills pouring out the opening. Two large ominous hands hover around the trophy, one holding a scythe to its torso. The depiction is headlined with THE AVARICE AWARDS, with details below: PRESENTED BY UNITED VIDEOGAME WORKERS, A CODE-CWA UNION LIVE ON DEC. 10TH AT 7 PM PT AT HTTPS://TWITCH.TV/UVW_CWA
Ronald Reagan
A screenshot from Animal Crossing: New Horizons showing a villager standing beneath a red UVW logo flag at city hall
The managers and executives at Take-Two and Rockstar have finally answered the question of what they bring to the table in the production of GTA VI, given that the technical acumen, clever writing, beautiful composition, attention to detail, and vision are all brought by their workers. Pathetically, they’ve revealed that their contribution is sabotage, greed and short-sightedness by firing over 40 Rockstar employees who were organizing to demand better conditions as their co-workers shoulder the gargantuan task of delivering one of the biggest games in the history of the industry. Take Two and Rockstar’s leadership was willing to blatantly lie to the world about the conduct and character of these workers, and now they expect us all to believe that the 6-month delay of GTA VI has nothing to do with their gleeful desire to crush the dreams of workers even if it hurts their remaining staff, their faithful fans, and the quality of their work. UVW-CWA stands firmly in solidarity with the unjustly-fired workers, the IWGB in their lawsuit against the company, and every worker at Rockstar and Take-Two. Aurelia A. President, UVW-CWA
A screenshot from the GDC Festival of Gaming (what) State of the Games Industry survey, asking: are you part of a union? Several answers are listed, including one naming us, UVW-CWA, directly.