Game Developer Feature Discusses Unionization

As part of its association with sister publication Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra is proud to present a Paul Hyman-authored article from the March 2005 issue of the magazine, asking the simple question: 'Unionize Now?' The article starts by explaining: "When EA_Spouse posted her now-famous open letter regarding working conditions at Electronic Arts, it wasn't as if no one had ever complained before about the quality-of-life issues plaguing the game development community. But she brought the discussions into the open, notes Rusty Rueff, EA's executive vice president of human resources, and that, he says, is a good thing. "Maybe I'm old-fashioned," he told Game Developer, "but I think it's cathartic when people have a chance to get something off their chest. And obviously, in our industry, how we work is something that people need to talk about." Indeed, EA_Spouse says her goal was to break the ice, to get developers talking. They are, however, talking about more than just convincing management that conditions need to improve. There's now a buzz in the industry about unionizing - and it's getting louder." The full article is now available on Gamasutra.com, and is presented for a limited time without free registration being necessary, for easy external linking purposes.