Workers At Sega Of America Are Forming A Union, 144 Person Union Submits For Representation Election

“You need to be true to yourself.” — Sonic The Hedgehog (2020)

Workers at Sega of America are following Sonic’s words of wisdom, as they have collectively announced plans to form a union. The majority of workers located at the Irvine CA headquarters of the company declared their intention to form a union with the Communication Workers of America. They are identifying themselves as the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS-CWA).

Today we, a supermajority of workers at our @SEGA of America Irvine headquarters, are excited to announce that we are unionizing as the Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA—AEGIS—in partnership with @code_cwa. #UnionizeSEGA pic.twitter.com/lzbwFUZOFH

— AEGIS-CWA 💙 #UnionizeSEGA (@takesAEGIS) April 24, 2023

In a statement, the union said:

“As employees at Sega, our goal is to create high-quality games and cross-media experiences for our wide, devoted fanbase. Our lack of control over our own working conditions has greatly hampered this goal. In the interest of delivering the best quality products to our fans, we must have the opportunity to make decisions that impact our working conditions. We must ensure that Sega remains competitive in a growing industry. Amidst wages that are below the industry average, weak benefits, and a lack of paths to promotion, unionization is our answer.”

According to member Mohammad Saman, a Sega QA lead, AEGIS-CWA wants to have a say in decisions that affect their working conditions and job security, and to build a stronger company while protecting its existing strengths.

Sega has not recognized the union yet, but AEGIS-CWA filed for representation election with the National Labor Relations Board. If approved, the union — comprising 144 employees across QA, localization, live service, marketing, and product development departments — would be the largest one of its kind in the American video game industry.