Sponsored By

AEGIS is calling on Sega's loyal player base to convince the developer to stay neutral of its union vote on June 16.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

June 8, 2023

1 Min Read
Box art for Sega's Sonic Frontiers, showing Sonic the Hedgehog on a grind rail.

Over a month after its formation, Sega of America's worker-led union AEGIS has alleged its parent company is interfering with its unionization efforts. On Twitter, the union called on Sega to take a stance of neutrality ahead of its June 16 vote. 

"Instead of living up to Sega’s values of 'respecting our employees’ right to organize for labor-management consultation,' management has initiated a campaign in response to us exercising our rights," it wrote. "We call on management to cease their anti-union campaign."

Allegations of union-busting at the hands of larger companies are common. Unlike with the unions for Bandcamp or Activision Blizzard, however, AEGIS doesn't indicate what kind of actions are being taken by management for the Japanese developer.

Conversely, Microsoft has repeatedly opted for neutrality as QA workers for ZeniMax unionized.

AEGIS previously expressed hope that Sega (of America and the company at large) would voluntarily recognize the union. It's now calling on the developer's players to contact management and "take the high road in your labor standards by remaining neutral and not interfering in your workers’ democratic right to organize."

Game Developer has reached out to Sega regarding AEGIS' allegations, and will update when a response is given. 

About the Author(s)

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox

You May Also Like