Wizards of the Coast “doesn’t intend to voluntarily recognize the D&D or Studio X” teams’ efforts to join the United Wizards of the Coast Union, according to a statement made on the Union’s X dot com account on Wednesday, October 14, and confirmed by a spokesperson for WotC. The matter will now be referred to the National Labor Relations Board, leading to a secret ballot in which all staff will vote to decide whether or not to adopt the union.
Staff in the Dungeons and Dragons team and Studio X – the catch-all group that includes most creative staff working on Magic: the Gathering – announced their intention to join United Wizards of the Coast (UWOTC-CWA), part of the Communication Workers of America union, on October 6.
UWOTC-CWA formed in June this year, and was founded by members of the Magic the Gathering: Arena development team. Wizards of the Coast chose not to voluntarily recognize that union, leading to a vote which passed with a landslide 83% of workers in favor.
UWOTC-CWA is campaigning for unionization on the following platform:
- “Fair wages, career progression, and job security: Workers should be secure in the face of industry instability, roles should be clearly defined, and workers should be able to grow their careers through meaningful raises, role changes, and promotions.
- Remote work protections and sustainable workloads: We have been asked to do more work with less regard for our personal lives. Intensive crunch and forced RTO aren’t just bad for business. They hurt workers’ families and communities, which in turn affects the work we can produce.
- Reliable and easily accessible healthcare: Wizards of the Coast workers and families should not have to worry about the quality of their healthcare. We wish to decrease the bureaucratic red tape around healthcare claims and provide reasonable deductibles and co-pays to our members.
- Protection against the encroachment of AI: Leadership, without regard for the desires of our teams, has pushed for adoption of LLMs and generative AI. This has to stop; our teams deserve a robust and enforceable AI policy that aligns with our goals and values.
- Full ownership of what we create outside of work: Wizards can currently claim ownership over any IP created by employees during their tenure at Wizards, including works that are fully unrelated to Wizards IP. What we make in our free time should belong to us, not the company.”
Wargamer reached out to press representatives of Wizards of the Coast, and received a copy of an email apparently circulated to WotC staff in the US this week. In it, the firm announces its decision not to voluntarily recognize the union.
It couches the decision in terms of individual choice, stating “it is the right of every eligible employee to decide whether union representation is right for them”. It adds that proceeding with a vote is the best way to give everyone affected an equal voice in the decision.
The email states that management believes “we are best able to keep building great games and a great place to work by working directly with employees, not through unions. In this regard, Wizards is not neutral on the question of unionization.” However, “in the end, we will respect the results of the election, no matter what our employees choose”. “We expect conversations to remain respectful and that no one will be treated differently based on where they stand”, the email adds.
The email also lists achievements and benefits at the company which it says have been “accomplished together in direct collaboration”.
- “Individual Contributor average base salary in Wizards that is up 20% since 2023, well above external benchmarks
- Annual bonuses including 200% of target in 2025
- Five weeks of paid time off in addition to paid company break weeks and holidays
- Heavily subsidized comprehensive medical benefits
- Free product”
Along with Digital Gaming, Wizards of the Coast is the most profitable part of Hasbro. In its Q2 earnings report for 2026, Hasbro reports that this year WotC and Digital Gaming have generated $568 million of pre-tax profit, while its ‘Entertainment’ division made $23 million, and ‘Consumer Products’ (toys) lost $62 million. In an official filing in April 2026, Hasbro disclosed that CEO Chris Cocks’ full remuneration for 2025 was worth $18,672,521, a sum it estimated at 165 times the median pay for its staff.
Union staff in the US earn, on average, around 12.8% more than staff on individually negotiated contracts, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Source: Wargamer
