Sega of America workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of forming an official union, soon to be established as the ‘Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega’ (AEGIS). Per reporting from Polygon, over one hundred votes from employees were counted, with 91 votes for the union and just 26 votes against it.
The US National Labor Relations Board will need to certify the union, based on these counted votes, and then AEGIS members may move to the bargaining stage with company management. It’s expected that AEGIS will speak for around 200 roles across Sega of America – which includes roles in Sega’s Irvine and California offices.
AEGIS will also cover a multitude of roles – from marketing, Games as a Service (GaaS), and localisation to product development, and quality assurance. As Polygon notes, this spread makes the planned Sega of America union the most comprehensive video game union at a major game company.
Read: ZeniMax Studios QA workers officially form union
‘We are overjoyed to celebrate our union election win as members of AEGIS-CWA,’ Ángel Gómez, Sega of America translator said in a press release. ‘From the start of this campaign, it has been clear that we all care deeply about our work at SEGA. Now, through our union, we’ll be able to protect the parts of our jobs we love, and strengthen the benefits, pay, and job stability available to all workers.’
‘Together we can build an even better SEGA. We hope our victory today is an inspiration to other workers across the gaming industry. Together, we can raise standards for all workers across the industry.’
It’s expected that Sega of America’s first negotiations will target higher pay, raises in line with inflation, improved worker benefits, and a boost for staff numbers to reduce the likelihood of overwork. When the NLRB certifies the Sega of America union, workers will be in a much better position to negotiate these improvements.
