Sega workers successfully unionise with milestone election

Workers at Sega Of America have successfully voted to unionise, after their attempts to organise went to an election.

On Monday (July 10), Sega Of America workers voted 91-26 in favour of forming the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS-CWA).

With members joining from a number of disciplines throughout Sega Of America’s California headquarters, AEGIS-CWA is now the largest multi-department union within the game industry.

It’s a significant milestone for growing unionisation efforts across the game industry, as Sega is one of the world’s largest gaming publishers. Besides creating Sonic The Hedgehog, Sega is best known for owning the studios behind Persona, Total War, Like A Dragon, and Football Manager.

“We are overjoyed to celebrate our union election win as members of AEGIS-CWA. From the start of this campaign, it has been clear that we all care deeply about our work at Sega,” shared Ángel Gómez, a translator at Sega and member of AEGIS-CWA.

“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,” added Gómez. “Together we can build an even better SEGA. We hope our victory today is an inspiration to other workers across the gaming industry.”

Back in April, one worker told NME they were unionising because they felt “under-valued and over-worked” at Sega.

The union at Sega is the latest in a string of unionisation efforts across the game industry. In 2022, workers at Call Of Duty‘s Raven Software, along with staff at Keywords Studios, successfully formed unions. Quality assurance staff at ZeniMax Media — the parent company behind Bethesda — also unionised in 2022, as did workers at Blizzard’s Albany branch.

In other Sega news, the company recently ditched plans to explore blockchain technology, over fears it could devalue its most popular games.