CODE-CWA

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"After weeks of living under the heavy weight of this racist campaign of terror by ICE agents," hundreds of businesses in Minnesota have closed for the day as part of a historic general strike.

Live: Scores of Minnesota businesses close in protest of ICE enforcement Restaurants, museums, schools and nonprofits closed their doors as part of an “ICE Out” demonstration. Despite the frigid weather, a crowd of protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis.

Minneapolis workers are the best among us. Facing freezing temps to peacefully stand for truth, freedom, and calling for ICE to leave Minnesota is true solidarity in action.

The Honorable Andrew N. Ferguson Chair of the Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Dear Chairman Ferguson, We are writing to express serious concerns regarding the proposed acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, and private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. We are committed to preserving fair, competitive labor markets and safeguarding American jobs, and given the impact of this acquisition on workers, labor market concentration, and the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. video game industry, we urge you to thoroughly review this transaction. Workers in the video game industry are already navigating an environment marked by instability, shrinking opportunities, and repeated rounds of layoffs. EA is one of the largest employers of video game workers in the United States, and evidence suggests the company already wields significant wage-setting power. For example, EA’s own disclosures show a steep decline in median worker pay year-over-year.1 This indicates that the company may already face limited competitive pressure to retain or reward talent. Compounding that issue, EA has eliminated more than 1,700 U.S. jobs since 2023, contributing to an industry-wide total of over 35,000 layoffs since 2022.2 These trends are deeply concerning as they signal a labor market where workers already have fewer alternatives and employers can impose deteriorating conditions without consequence. Additionally, we are concerned that the proposed buyout is expected to be financed with at least $20 billion in debt, which creates strong incentives for the acquiring firms to pursue further cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, offshoring, restructuring, or studio closures. These actions would not only jeopardize thousands of high-skilled American jobs, but also further concentrate already fragile labor markets for software engineers, artists, writers, testers, and other professionals

This level of cross-ownership presents risks of self-preferencing and anticompetitive coordination across these sports, sports-related talent, and sports-related video game business lines. This could, consequently, restrict worker mobility and reduce bargaining power for employees throughout the industry. Finally, the FTC’s 2023 Merger Guidelines make clear that mergers harming workers, suppressing wages, or enabling dominant firms to reduce labor demand may violate antitrust laws. Given the scale of this acquisition and EA’s current dominance over the domestic video-game labor market, we believe careful scrutiny of this deal is essential. The transaction also raises serious concerns about interlocking directorates and common ownership across competing game publishers. This kind of overlap heightens the risk of coordinated anti-labor practices, including wage suppression, hiring restrictions, or informal no-poach dynamics and could further weaken the already limited bargaining power workers have in this industry. These risks should weigh heavily as the Commission evaluates whether the acquisition would leave workers more vulnerable to coordinated or unilateral harms. We respectfully urge the Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the labor market consequences of this proposed acquisition, including EA’s existing wage-setting power, the likelihood of post-transaction layoffs, the degree of labor-market concentration in relevant geographic and occupational markets, and the role of cross-ownership in shaping labor outcomes. Workers deserve a fair, competitive marketplace where their skills are valued. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Sincerely,

the congressional labor caucus has called for the FTC to review the saudi-led $55 billion purchase of EA, saying it stands to harm workers while discouraging competition by putting EA under the same umbrella as major sports leagues. the letter has been signed by 46 members of congress

Video game workers are the heart of their industry, yet they’re often the last ones considered in massive buyouts. 🎮

That's why we and over 40 Members of Congress are calling on the FTC to investigate the proposed EA acquisition and protect workers from the threat of job loss.

a group of AWU members in red Alphabet Workers Union tshirts raise their fists and hold signs at an anti-ICE demonstration in San Francisco.

a group of AWU members bundled up for the cold and raising their fists at an anti-ICE demonstration in Boston.

Tech workers say: ICE out of our neighborhoods! Alphabet Workers Union members in Boston and San Francisco hit the streets yesterday in solidarity with communities resisting ICE in Minneapolis and in our own backyards.

‘We have to stand together’: Minnesota economic blackout organizers push to take demonstrations nationwide Minnesotans urged not to work, shop or go to school as part of protests against ICE and the death of Renee Nicole Good

“We’re just encouraging everybody in Minnesota, and I understand now it’s gotten national and international traction, to stand in solidarity on the 23rd that what is happening here is unconstitutional and is dangerous.”

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Contact an Organizer and Let's Organize! Use this form to contact a CODE-CWA organizer.

If you’re a Meta worker looking to take collective action against routine layoffs, reach out to us.

Meta Plans to Cut Around 10% of Employees in Reality Labs Business

Meta's decision to eliminate over 1,000 jobs in response to losing $70 billion in revenue is a choice, not a necessity.

Workers at Reality Labs should not be the ones who bear the brunt of reckless executive decisions, yet they're always the first to experience job cuts and financial instability.

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Upcoming CODE-CWA Trainings

2026 is already bringing about studio closures and corporate decisions without worker input.

Now is the time to build a better future. As tech and video game workers, organizing is how we fight back.

Learn how @ one of our organizer trainings this month ⤵️

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Ubisoft Shuts Down Assassin's Creed: Rebellion Developer Halifax Studio Just 1 Month After It Unionized - IGN Ubisoft has shut down its Halifax Studio, just one month after 61 of its 71 workers voted to unionized.

infuriated on behalf of my union siblings in Halifax over this, even moreso after the absurdly long history of struggle in Canada trying to get a union going within Ubisoft.

www.ign.com/articles/ubi...

We are saddened and disappointed at Ubisoft’s announcement to close their Halifax studio just weeks after their video game workers collectively formed a union with CWA Canada Local 30111.

Contact an Organizer and Let's Organize! Use this form to contact a CODE-CWA organizer.

If you're a Naughty Dog worker outraged by this, reach out to us: code-cwa.org/organize

We've done it! Ubisoft Halifax has voted yes to unionize with @cwacanada1.bsky.social

Union members outside Rockstar Toronto's studio with banners that say "Grand Theft Wages" and "We're Done Playing"

Last week, our CWA Canada union siblings shared leaflets and delivered letters outside Rockstar Games Toronto with other community members and union allies to demand that the studio reinstates the illegally-terminated workers after they attempted to organize.

All eyes on Rockstar!

‘Our industry has been strip-mined’: video game workers protest at The Game Awards Outside the lavish event, workers called out the ‘greed’ in the industry that has left games ‘being sold for parts to make a few people a lot of money’

"Anyone who works in the games industry can identify that our art form is being sold for parts to make a few people a lot of money. And they don’t care about the games. They don’t care about the art. They just want their money."

@alyssamerc.bsky.social

165 employees at id Software just unionized. Their latest game, Doom: The Dark Ages, won for accessibility at last night's Game Awards https://kotaku.com/doom-id-software-union-microsoft-xbox-cwa-2000653008

doom creator id software just became the latest microsoft studio to unionize. though the neutrality agreement that has allowed CWA to organize so many studios recently lapsed, id devs told me that only applies to activision blizzard for now

aftermath.site/id-software-union-doom-microsoft-cwa

Doom

Doom studio id Software unionizes to secure AI protections, benefits: "We see the direction the industry is headed"
aftermath.site/id-software-un...

Video Game Developers in Texas Vote to Form Latest Wall-to-Wall Union with CWA A strong majority of video game workers at Microsoft subsidiary id Software voted in favor of union representation with the CWA,

On December 10th 1993, workers at id Software published Doom.

32 years later, workers at id Software have formed a union to protect the franchise and games they love.

BREAKING: Democrats and Republicans in Congress just voted to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act to restore federal workers’ union rights – the first time the House has voted to overturn a Trump executive order in this term. https://bit.ly/4oNyBQc

a crowd of devs standing near geoff’s weird promotional obelisk

developers in grim reaper outfits, one with a wanted sign featuring take-two ceo strauss zelnick

a tombstone-shaped sign that says “RIP future class”

a “the industry is dead” pamphlet

around 40 game developers affiliated with @videogameworkers.bsky.social have gathered outside the peacock theater, where the game awards will take place in a few hours, for a “the industry is dead” demonstration

Workers struggle to carry an oversized trophy as sinister ghostly hands swirl around them trying to claim it. THE GAME INDUSTRY IS DEAD: A VIGIL @ THE PEACOCK THEATER, DEC. 11th 2025, 2-4 PM WE NEED ANSWERS FOR ALL THE LAYOFFS WHILE VIDEO GAME COMPANIES TURN MASSIVE PROFIT

We gather here at PEACOCK SQUARE, 2-4 PM PT TODAY to celebrate the life of a once vibrant game industry, killed far too soon by greedy bosses. Wear your mourning fit, and join us for a candlelight vigil in front of The Game Awards, because THE INDUSTRY IS DEAD!

actionnetwork.org/events/the-i...

Happening now!!

Happening today!!

Our statement in solidarity with our fellow workers' ongoing protest against @rockstargames.com's gross union busting!