Sega and the CWA come to an agreement on a dev union contract

In some good news around companies and unions, The Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS) union have signed off on their collective bargained contract, according to Gamesindustry.biz.

In what is essentially the first developer union contract for a US games company, the contract will protect those working at Sega of America. Some of the protections that staff will gain are base pay raises, layoff protection (including severance) and crediting all staff who worked on a game, including early QA testers.

But, not only that, management will commit to ensuring advanced notice if there will be any use of AI. This is fantastic to see, as more and more companies look to use AI for writing, art, voice acting, and even whole games, you name it. However, the best thing about this agreement is that it doesn’t just protect game developers. It’s inclusive of all staff at Sega of America, such as those who work in translation and marketing.

Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the AEGIS partnered to bring this contract together after unionising in July of 2023. One of the other bonuses to the deal is receiving just cause protections. This allows staff protection against arbitrary or unfair termination in the workplace. The only other studio to have these same protections is Tender Claws, who unionised back in 2022.

This is some fantastic news! Especially considering that back in January, Sega planned to lay off 61 employees on the 8th of March. Reported by Polygon, AEGIS-CWA were able to save 18 employees, and better severance packages for those that were laid off. Hopefully, other studios will follow in the footsteps of Sega in the future.