Employees at developer Workinman Interactive have filed a petition to form a union under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
A new press release notes that if successful, Workinman Interactive would become the first game union with support from IATSE in the United States.
Workinman Interactive is a New York-based studio that works with high-profile clients, including Nintendo, Disney, and Nickelodeon. At the same time, IATSE is a labor union that has typically represented entertainment industry members, with crew members, artisans, and technicians being common jobs held by its members.
"Game production is a cacophony of different jobs and disciplines pitted against each other for smaller and smaller pieces of a big pie," Workinman Interactive employee Matthew Vimislik said in the press release. "I believe IATSE's experiences representing wide swathes of the entertainment industry gives us the best chance of navigating the various needs of our workers, and create a sense of solidarity for artists, programmers, producers, and engineers."
This move is the latest push from workers across games and entertainment seeking to unionize their workplace. Most recently, visual effects employees at Marvel Studios announced their attempt to be represented by IATSE which, if successful, will mark the first-ever VFX union. In the games industry, Sega of America recently announced that they unionized.
An election for Workinman is set for Aug. 21 and will run through Sept. 11.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
