The Communications Workers Association of America (CWA), which includes members from a variety of high-profile game developers and publishers including Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard Entertainment, Sega and ZeniMax, says it stands in “complete solidarity with the striking members of SAG-AFTRA.”
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) called a strike last week after failing to reach an agreement with the bargaining group over rights and protection concerns raised by the industry’s exploration of artificial intelligence technologies.
“We fully support SAG-AFTRA's demand for explicit, enforceable language ensuring that all video game workers are protected from potential exploitation and displacement caused by AI technologies,” the CWA said in a statement.
“The decision to strike is never easy and is always the result of management's refusal to respect the most urgent demands of workers.”
The statement added that as workers in the video game industry, the CWA “deeply understands 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 our work that has allowed the video game industry to become one of the most profitable entertainment sectors worldwide,” said the CWA.
“We, as fellow game workers, recognize the power of collective action to raise worker standards across the industry. We believe a union contract is the most effective way for workers to establish protections against the potential risks of AI. That's why we're united in the fight to establish protections against misuse of the technology, improve working conditions, address ongoing layoffs, and more for all game workers,” the statement concludes.
“We call on all workers to join SAG-AFTRA members and encourage other workers in the video game industry to organize. Together, we can continue to produce high-quality video games for our fans and ensure that our creativity and skills are protected.”
The SAG-AFTRA strike comes after the SAG-AFTRA National Board unanimously agreed last week to allow its chief negotiator to call an immediate strike at will in an attempt to protect voice actors fighting for job security as more and more studios explore generative AI.
National executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, acting under delegated authority from SAG-AFTRA, said the strike comes “after more than a year and a half of negotiations (on the Interactive Media Agreement) without an agreement.”