A group of 31 employees of Paizo, Inc., publisher of the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games, announced the formation of the United Paizo Workers union, affiliated with the Communication Workers of America CODE-CWA project. The CWA announced in early 2020 the formation of the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees, focusing on organizing in the technology and game industries.
The new union group cited a number of issues. “Paizo’s workers are underpaid for their labor, required to live in one of the most expensive cities in the United States, and subjected to untenable crunch conditions on a regular basis,” the group said in its announcement. It also alleged “…a pattern of inconsistent hiring practices, pay inequity across the company, allegations of verbal abuse from executives and management, and allegations of harassment ignored or covered up by those at the top.”
Recent events, including the “…sudden departures of several long-standing employees in September and the subsequent allegations of managerial impropriety by former Paizo employees” accelerated organizing efforts, the group said.
“I love my job. I love my coworkers, and I love the company I work for,” Sales Manager Cosmo Eisele said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “I get to sell a game that I love to a community that I love. I come from a pro-union family, and I believe that unionizing Paizo will be the best way to protect the people, company, and community that I love…”
The new union invited other Paizo employees to join, asked for support from the tabletop community, and for Paizo management to voluntarily recognize the union and negotiate a contract.
Paizo management did not respond to a request for comment in time for this article. If management does not voluntarily recognize the union, the union could collect membership cards and petition a state or federal labor board to hold an election.
The new union “…is the first of its kind in the tabletop roleplaying games industry,” the group said.
Source: ICV2
