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Game Workers Unite

gameworkersunite.org

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Re: Game Workers Unite

#111

Post by door3 »

microcolonel wrote: post #86
49531 wrote: post #61

I am so glad to see this happening! There are a lot of reasons why game workers need to organize, but it doesn't have to stop there. Tech workers in general can make the lives of their teammates a lot better by banding together. We can also fight for the rights of others, why couldn't Amazon employees fight for the rights of Amazon's warehouse workers? Also, things like discrimination and abuse are combated by organi…

> No individual worker is going to negotiate with a company on equal footing. Equal footing how? If the "worker" and the company could be on truly equal footing, then there would be no point in having companies at all. The whole point of a company is for the company to have more resources than any one person is entitled to or capable of retaining. If you mean equal footing relative other employees , why would they ha…

Every person under capitalism has to sell their labor in order to survive. This means that the employee and employer are not on equal footing - I cannot reasonably refuse to work and live a comfortable lifestyle, which means I have to make certain sacrifices (ie, working 40 hours a week in order to survive). This is all fine if I feel like I am treated well and compensated fairly, but if I feel like I am not, as an individual I have very little power. I can quit, but if I feel like most workers in my industry are not treated fairly, there's nowhere to go. However, if I organize with other workers, I have the bargaining power to make certain demands: suddenly employers realize if they want to employ people who have my skills, they have to meet certain reasonably requirements with regards to hours, compensation, etc.

Things like the 40 hour workweek aren't just a result of market forces. Market forces by themselves literally worked people to death - life expectancy in Liverpool during the industrial revolution was 15. It was through organization and struggle that workers achieved the rights they have today.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#112

Post by jayd16 »

humanrebar wrote: post #20
brann0 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That, sir, is just FUD. The dangerous type. Unions protect workers from being exploited and abused. If you're not happy with how some employee performs, you can still fire him in place. But be ready to prove it. No more firing people on a whim just because. If game industry isn't sustainable without exploitation, then we need it to adapt, and not the other way around.

> But be ready to prove it. How do you prove that an employee took two weeks to find a bug that should have taken one day to find? How do you prove that writing a domain-specific language was a bad decision compared to defining a complex XML schema? How do you prove that an engineer is bad at explaining technical concepts?

>How do you prove [...]

Email archives of PIP goals and the like. But that doesn't even matter. All you really have to do is prove you didn't fire them because they asked for OT pay they were owed.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#113

Post by jayd16 »

I see a lot of comments talking about employees butting heads with managers and somehow a union will protect them. I don't really see what role a union has in that particular case.

I just want those poor bastards in QA to get overtime or full time benefits.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#114

Post by none_to_remain »

canthonytucci wrote: post #7

Why only game workers? Why not software workers/codewriters in general? I'd prefer something closer to SAG than the auto workers union personally.

Note that it is "game workers" not "game developers" - this seems to be more along the lines of an "industry union" rather than a "craft union" - so this will tend to devalue technological skill.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#115

Post by jayd16 »

canthonytucci wrote: post #7

Why only game workers? Why not software workers/codewriters in general? I'd prefer something closer to SAG than the auto workers union personally.

Games is a very seasonal industry with a lot of large studios exploiting this by putting ramping up before Christmas and laying off before bonuses in Q2. It also attracts a lot of young people that don't know their rights.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#116

Post by fabianhjr »

prewett wrote: post #66
leadingthenet wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if it's of the left-wing type (ie. the original one before Americans twisted the meaning of this word, just like liberal).

Just curious, what words would you use to describe "American-style liberal" and "American-style left-wing"?

The term "libertarian" was first used by anarchists and syndicalists in Europe.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Libertarianism#/History

Furthermore, modern day "libertarianism" in the USA has more to do with Objectivism/Egoism (Ayn Rand) Individualism(Individualist Anarchism). https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Libertarianism_in_the_United_Sta...

Re: Game Workers Unite

#117

Post by petee »

Elidrake24 wrote: post #96
Stanleyc23 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hmm, I would have assumed the writer's guild rules would still apply even if you're doing an indie film.

You can apply for the Low Budget Agreement on an indie film (defined as being under a particular budget amount I couldn't find), but it isn't required if you are in the guild. It was mainly created to protect individuals from larger studios - can't imagine much benefit from leveraging what are essentially personal projects.

IATSE Low Budget Theatrical Agreement sets a Tier-1 ("lowest"...their is a mythical tier-0, but its negotiated) for budgets under $6 million; Tier-2 is $6-10, and Tier-3 is $10-14

A Tier-1 has benefits such as $108/day toward healthcare, retirement. Pay rates in the range of $21-26/hr.

That said, i know of plenty of super-low budget indies that are just too small to use the contract -- the union often doesn't mind, and union workers will still do these 'passion projects' because they love the work

Re: Game Workers Unite

#118

Post by java_script »

prewett wrote: post #66
leadingthenet wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if it's of the left-wing type (ie. the original one before Americans twisted the meaning of this word, just like liberal).

Just curious, what words would you use to describe "American-style liberal" and "American-style left-wing"?

GP means left-libertarians, for example anarcho-syndicalists like Noam Chomsky.

Versus American libertarian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZITP93pqtdQ

Re: Game Workers Unite

#119

Post by sangnoir »

petee wrote: post #107

One of my relatives works for a large well known game developer; same employer for years. Because they decide to classify many of their devs as contract workers, they are denied rights afforded to 'full-time' employees - when she is laid off for months at a time (to prevent being called a full-time) she can't collect unemployment. No health care, no benefits whatsoever. And due to contracts, can't work for a rival ei…

I'm amazed that this is legal in a first world country- it would be illegal to do this in a couple of third-world countries I'm personally familiar with: the laws state that if you're a on contract for more than a certain number of months, you automatically become a permanent employee. Firing and rehiring for the same position as a contractor is straight-up illegal.

Re: Game Workers Unite

#120

Post by ttoinou »

horsecaptin wrote: post #75
ttoinou wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it is sexier to be a game dev than, say, working at Salesforce. So what should we do, besides educate people about the reality of working in this industry (which is not really the point of an union) ?

When the industry is highly lucrative on the backs of overworked labor, some type of a union apparatus is the most affective way to ensure fair compensation. Yes, we can educate others who want to enter the industry, but when you're graduating out of university with a fat debt, you'll accept the poor working conditions for long enough and the cycle will continue to perpetuate. The best protection against predation is…

   is highly lucrative on the backs of overworked labor
You need to think about WHY this situation happens. I'm willing to believe grouped negotiations can bring value to a class of workers but it's a partial remedy to a bad situation.

  but when you're graduating out of university with a fat debt
Paying expensive university could be a really bad decision, especially in markets like game industry / software dev, which doesn't require by law that you pass some exams. Funnily, once you create huge syndicates / unions for the game industry or software dev, maybe you'll see these kind of "protection" to emerge
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