Workers across the United States and Canada announced on Wednesday that they are forming a direct-join,
industrywide video game union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in partnership with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).
Organized under the name United Videogame Workers-CWA (UVW-CWA) Local 9433, this union allows any video game industry worker to join, regardless of whether they are freelance or full time or whether other workers at their company have joined. Workers officially launched this campaign at the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC), which is the world’s premier event for developers. This historic effort is the first of its kind in North America.
“The creation of this union was not done in isolation; it’s a cumulative effort by the thousands of video game workers who have been fighting for years to redefine what it means to stand together and reclaim power in one of the largest and highest-grossing industries on the globe,” said Tom Smith, CWA’s senior director of organizing, in a press release. “These workers are taking a bold stand, joining together to build power for the workers behind the games we all know and love.”
- AFL-CIO Daily Brief