Jump to content

CODE-CWA

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Wikiprole (talk | contribs) at 18:58, 1 September 2022 (Added a recent reference to number of union members and units organized by CODE from a recent article.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

CODE-CWA
Campaign to Organize Digital Employees
Founded2020
Key people
Emma Kinema, Wes McEnany
AffiliationsCommunications Workers of America
Websitecode-cwa.org

The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees or CODE-CWA is a project launched by the Communications Workers of America to unionize tech and video game workers in January 2020.[1] It sprung out of conversations with Game Workers Unite (GWU) and employed at least two full time staff, including GWU co-founder Emma Kinema and veteran SEIU organizer Wes McEnany.[1]

CODE-CWA campaigns have been launched at a range of workplaces such as major multinational tech companies, small startups, video game studios, media companies, AAA game publishers, worker co-operatives, and table-top game companies.[2] As of August 2022, CODE-CWA has organized over 3000 union members in various sub-industries of the tech sector across over 25 bargaining units in the last two years of organizing. [3]

Campaigns

CODE-CWA Campaigns by Company
Company Unit Name Founded Local Union Status Campaign Description
Glitch n/a March 2020 CWA Local 1101 Ratified Bargaining Agreement Glitch staff announced intentions to unionize with the CWA Local No. 1101 as part of CODE-CWA in early 2020. The company voluntarily recognized their union. Around the same time, the company laid off a third of its staff of 50 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] Glitch signed a collective bargaining agreement in March 2021, the first in the American tech industry.[6]
Voltage Entertainment August 2020 n/a n/a In August 2020, CODE-CWA organized the first successful strike of 21 contract script writers in the game industry at Voltage Entertainment, which lasted for 21 days and resulted in pay increases and improved transparency.[7]
Blue State Digital Blue State Union October 2020 CWA Local 1101 In Collective Bargaining In October 2020, Blue State Digital also voted to form a union with CWA Local No. 1101.[8]
Alphabet Alphabet Workers Union January 2021 CWA Local 1400 Active On January 4, 2021 over 400 employees (out of 130,000) of Alphabet (parent company of Google) formed the Alphabet Workers Union (CWA Local No. 1400) with a rare solidarity union model, which is not registered with the National Labor Relations Board, and thus cannot engage in collective bargaining.[9] Alphabet Workers Union is notably open to non Alphabet employees, including Temporary, Vendor, and Contract workers, who make up almost half of the workforce.[10][11]
Medium Medium Workers Union February 2021 n/a Not Certified Medium Workers Union announced their intent to form a trade union with CODE-CWA at the company Medium in February 2021.[12] According to MWU, 70% of the eligible employees have signed union authorization cards, representing workers in editorial, engineering, design and product departments.[12] On February 11, the workers asked management for voluntary recognition of their union.[13] Medium workers held an online vote for recognition by management, which fell one vote short of the majority threshold required by their agreed terms. In March 2021, organizers stated that they would not pursue a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election in the near future.[14]
Mobilize Mobilize Union March 2021 In Collective Bargaining On March 15, 2021 it was announced that tech workers at community-organizing app company Mobilize had certified a union as a part of the CODE-CWA effort.[15]
NPR Digital Media United April 2021 NABET-CWA Local 31 In Collective Bargaining On April 26, 2021 workers in NPR's Digital Media Division announced they had formed a union with NABET-CWA Local 31 as a part of the CODE-CWA organizing project and requested voluntary recognition of their union from NPR management. Digital Media United NABET-CWA, the newly formed constituent of CODE-CWA, includes a wide range of tech related disciplines including engineering, design, content operations, online support, and product management workers.[16] On April 28, 2021 Digital Media United NABET-CWA announced that NPR management chose to voluntarily recognize their union.
New York Times New York Times Tech Guild April 2021 New York NewsGuild-CWA Certified On April 13, 2021 more than 650 tech workers at the New York Times announced that they were unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA.[17][18] In July 2021 the workers filed for union certification with the National Labor Relations Board.[19] On August 11, 2021 the New York Times Tech Guild held a half-day work stoppage in protest of alleged union-busting tactics from the New York Times management for which the Guild filed at least three unfair labor practices charges with the NLRB.[20] On March 3, 2022, the workers voted for their union, where it will be the largest union representing tech workers with collective bargaining rights in the country.[21][22]
Mapbox Mapbox Workers Union June 2021 n/a Not Certified On June 15, 2021 workers at Mapbox announced that a super-majority of the over 200 workers for the company, both tech and non-tech, had signed union authorization cards to be represented by CODE-CWA.[23][24]
Catalist Catalist Union June 2021 In Collective Bargaining In June 2021, 30 workers at Catalist announced that a super majority of workers had signed union authorization cards to be represented by the Communications Workers of America through CODE-CWA, and that Catalist had voluntarily recognized the workers' union.[25] They did not unionize to improve working conditions, but because workers felt that since the company does work for the labor movement, its employees should be unionized.[25]
Change.Org Solidarity @ Change June 2021 In Collective Bargaining On June 30, 2021 it was announced that 70 workers at Change.Org had received voluntary recognition of their union and will be represented by CODE-CWA for collective bargaining.[26] To date, Change.org is the largest tech company to voluntarily recognize a union as the representative of its staff. About half the staff are based in the US and half in Canada.
EveryAction EveryAction Workers Union September 2021 In Collective Bargaining On September 3, 2021 CODE-CWA announced that 240 workers at EveryAction had received voluntary recognition of their union and would be represented by CODE-CWA after a super majority of employees signed union authorization cards expressing support for unionizing.[27] EveryAction Workers Union, the newly formed constituent of CODE-CWA, became the "largest progressive tech union with majority traditional tech workers in the United States." EveryAction also surpassed Change.org in becoming the largest tech company to voluntarily recognize a union.
Activision Blizzard ABK Workers Alliance September 2021 n/a Active, signing authorization cards The Communication Workers of America filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the NLRB on September 14 alleging that Activision Blizzard, a prominent videogame development company, had engaged in unlawful intimidation and interrogation of workers organizing with the union.[28] The NLRB complaint follows shortly after a lawsuit initiated by the state of California against Activision Blizzard alleged that there was a culture of unlawful sex-based harassment and discrimination against women within the company.[29]

On December 6, 2021 12 Quality Assurance workers at Raven Software, an Activision Blizzard owned studio, were laid off. Thereafter, workers at Raven and Activision Blizzard launched a third strike at the company, and the first strike to stretch multiple days.[30] On the 9th ABK workers launched a strike fund on GoFundMe seeking to raise $1,000,000.[31]

Also on December 9, 2021 it was revealed that workers at Activision Blizzard had begun signing union authorization cards.[32]

Paizo United Paizo Workers October 2021 In Collective Bargaining On October 14, 2021 workers at Paizo, the table-top game company behind Pathfinder and Starfinder, announced they had requested union voluntary recognition from management under the name "United Paizo Workers" with CODE-CWA following months of conflict where Paizo staff, freelancers, and fans protested poor working conditions at the company.[33] On October 22, 2021 following pressure on the company from workers, fans, and allegedly a strike among Paizo freelancers it was announced that Paizo management chose to voluntarily recognized the workers' union and have since moved into the process of collective bargaining, becoming the first known certified union of table-top game workers with collective bargaining rights.[34][35]
Vodeo Games Vodeo Workers United December 2021 CWA Certified In December, workers at indie game developer Vodeo Games announced they won voluntary recognition of their union, becoming the first certified union of video game workers in North America.[36] Their unit is made up of workers in the US and Canada and it includes all job types, full-time employees, and contract workers.[37]
Raven Software Game Workers Alliance January 2022 Certified Following strikes prompted by a layoff of Quality Assurance employees, on January 21, 2022 workers at Raven Software announced that they were forming a union. The 34 worker unit made up of QA workers requested voluntary recognition of their union from Activision-Blizzard.[38] On May 23rd, workers at Raven Software voted 19-3 in favor of being represented by CWA.[39]
Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions) Game Workers Alliance Albany July, 2022 Filed for NLRB election Following the successful unionization of Quality Assurance workers at Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions), filed for a union election with the NLRB.[40]
Tender Claws Tender Claws Human Union July 2022 Received voluntary recognition On July 22nd, 2022 the 13 employees of Tender Claws announced via twitter that they had formed a union with unanimous support from all workers, and that their employer would be granting voluntary recognition of their union.[41] Subsequently on August 1st, the workers announced that their management signed the voluntary recognition agreement.[42]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dean, Sam (January 7, 2020). "Major union launches campaign to organize video game and tech workers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA)". Organizing Campaigns. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Not Playing Around: QA Testers at Blizzard Albany Organize with CODE-CWA". Strikewave. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  4. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (May 22, 2020). "Glitch lays off 'substantial number of employees' to cut costs". The Verge. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Heater, Brian (March 13, 2020). "Online code collaboration tool Glitch votes to unionize". Tech Crunch. Retrieved December 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (March 2, 2021). "Glitch workers sign tech's first collective bargaining agreement". The Verge. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (August 11, 2020). "These game writers made history by going on strike — and winning". Polygon. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Miller, Sean (October 21, 2020). "Employees At Democratic Firm Blue State Unionized By CODE-CWA". Campaigns and Elections. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  9. ^ Marshall, Aarian (January 12, 2021). "Google's New Union Is Already Addressing Political Issues". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. The AWU is somewhat unusual in that it is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America but won't seek recognition or collective bargaining rights through the National Labor Relations Board. "We will use our reclaimed power to control what we work on and how it is used," AWU writes in its mission statement. "We will ensure Alphabet acts ethically and in the best interests of society and the environment." The group says it now has more than 700 dues-paying members. But that's still a tiny percentage of Alphabet's 130,000 employees—and an even smaller share of the company's total workforce, including temporary workers, contractors, and vendors. The union is unusual in another respect, because it welcomes contractors and temporary workers.
  10. ^ Conger, Kate (January 4, 2021). "Hundreds of Google Employees Unionize, Culminating Years of Activism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 5, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Tiku, Nitasha. "Google workers launch unconventional union with help of Communications Workers of America". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Kerry Flynn. "Unions are becoming ubiquitous in digital media. Medium is the latest". CNN. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  13. ^ "Medium Workers Board the Union Train". Gizmodo. February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (March 1, 2021). "Medium union effort stalls, falling one vote short of majority". The Verge. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Kramer, Anna (March 15, 2021). "Mobilize app workers have unionized, adding momentum to CWA's tech organizing efforts". Protocol — The people, power and politics of tech. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  16. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/webuildnpr/status/1386680140097363974. Retrieved November 11, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ Robertson, Katie (April 13, 2021). "New York Times tech workers form a union". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  18. ^ "Shrugging Off Anti-Union Campaign, New York Times Tech Workers See a Chance to Make History". In These Times. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  19. ^ "600+ New York Times Tech Workers File for Union Certification!". Organizing Campaigns. July 23, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  20. ^ "New York Times tech workers escalate union conflict with half-day walkout". Poynter. August 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Tani, Maxwell (August 12, 2021). "NYT Lawyers Accidentally Send Private Strategy Memo to Staff Union". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  22. ^ Robertson, Katie (March 3, 2022). "New York Times Tech Workers Vote to Certify Union". The New York Times.
  23. ^ Ford, Brody (June 15, 2021). "Mapbox Faces Union Drive as Labor Organizers Extend Push in Tech". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  24. ^ "U.S. workers of SoftBank-backed Mapbox form union, seek recognition". Reuters. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Rodrigo, Chris (June 16, 2021). "Workers at progressive data firm Catalist unionize". The Hill. Retrieved December 22, 2021. Davinia Camellia, an account executive at the firm, told The Hill that the organizing workers' "overall philosophy" was that if they were going to be doing work with the labor movement then they should be represented by a union as well.
  26. ^ Allyn, Bobby (June 30, 2021). "Change.Org Workers Form A Union, Giving Labor Activists Another Win In Tech". NPR. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  27. ^ "Workers at EveryAction Become Largest Progressive Tech Union". Communication Workers of America. September 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  28. ^ Parrish, Ash (September 14, 2021). "Activision Blizzard sued again, this time for labor violations". The Verge. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  29. ^ Browning, Kellen (July 21, 2021). "Activision Blizzard Is Sued by California Over Workplace Culture". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  30. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 6, 2021). "Call of Duty: Warzone QA workers continue walkout in protest of layoffs". Polygon. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  31. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 9, 2021). "Activision Blizzard Staff Announce Start of New Strike Action [Update]". IGN. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  32. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 9, 2021). "Activision Blizzard workers group announces strike fund, begins unionization effort". Polygon. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  33. ^ Hall, Charlie (October 14, 2021). "Workers at Paizo unionize, a first for the tabletop role-playing game industry". Polygon. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  34. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/rkgwork/status/1451344696597438467. Retrieved November 11, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (October 22, 2021). "Pathfinder, Starfinder publisher voluntarily recognizes workers' union". Polygon. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  36. ^ "Indie Studio Forms First Video Game Union In The Country". Kotaku. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  37. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 15, 2021). "North America has its first video game union at Vodeo Games". Polygon. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  38. ^ Liao, Shannon (January 21, 2022). "Activision Blizzard employees at Raven Software ask management to recognize new union". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  39. ^ Liao, Shannon (May 23, 2022). "Raven Software employees win union election". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  40. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (July 19, 2022). "Blizzard QA workers from Vicarious Visions announce plan to unionize". Polygon. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  41. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (July 22, 2022). "Indie company Tender Claws is the next game studio to unionize". Polygon. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  42. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/tchumanunion/status/1554191318603010050. Retrieved August 1, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CODE-CWA&oldid=1107957096"