The newest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthy is out now. Inside is a well written article on potential unionization of game developers. It’s definitely worth a read.
It’s a transformation that likely isn’t going to happen any time soon because of a variety of factors. One of them, though, stands out particularly. Game developers have a perception that unions aren’t for them and their work.
"Unions? Meh."
Of course, that’s the usual opinion from the CEOs office, but his is a view that pervades a lot of the younger generation. In my 20s, I worked for KOAT, Albuquerque’s ABC affiliate. The station had recently organized. Just after I left my almost three year stint there, the station was able to bust the union mostly due to member apathy.
These TV stations churn through people like game developers. Albuquerque is the kind of city you go to for a couple of years, make a good reel, then go on to bigger and better things. Management policies impact you minimally because by the time a bad decision comes back to haunt the station, you are long gone. It’s also in the stations interest to keep employee churn going because newer employees make less than older employees. Also, the longer an employee is around, the more likely they are to plant some roots and thus need the union guaranteed benefits.
What people need to realize, though, is that it isn’t just cable splicers, clothes sewers and machine operators who are union members. In local television, photojournalists, writers, editors, graphics operators and more are potential union members. Ultimately anyone in a position to be abused by the company is a potential union member.
Those people are all “low wage” people, or, at least, are perceived that way. Who else is a member of a union, though? Steven Spielberg. Clint Eastwood. Sean Connery. George Clooney. David Fincher. Guillermo Del Toro. Peter Jackson. Frank DePalma. James Cameron.
These are people who have the potential to make huge sums of money based on the deals their agents and unions bargain for them. If the protections afforded them weren’t valuable, do you think Spielberg would still be a dues-paying member?
What does being a union member get you? For starters, it gets you job protection. You also get a fair salary. Days off are a perk. Time with your family is always a benefit, and if you are forced to work instead of being able to spend time with your family, you will be duly compensated.
Sadly most younger workers are too short-sighted to see these benefits. In videogames, there is a culture born that says sleeping at work is what you want to do. It shows you are dedicated to the project. It says you are part of a team.
The problem, though, is it isn’t your team. It’s Bobby Kotick’s. As soon as he is finished with you, you’re out–recycled–replaced with a cheaper and newer part.
When it’s your time, do you want a safety net to keep you from the scrap heap?
