Game Developers Unionize?

Gamasutra.com has a look at the reasons, both pro and con, for unionization of the folks behind the entertainment software industry. From the article: "Many industry observers see close parallels between the gripes of today's game developers and those of workers in the movie industry in the 1930s and '40s, particularly in the animation segment. The difference is that Hollywood unionized, and the game industry is still only talking about it."

Comments

Outsourcing.

[AtariAmarok]

The difference is outsourcing. The game industry can pretty much outsource everyone. Hollywood can't: if they outsourced everything, it would become Bollywood, and there is already a Bollywood.

Re:Outsourcing.

[darkmayo]

You do realize, that "The Grudge" aka Ju-On was orginally Japanese to begin with, the director was the same director of the orginal as well alot of cast members from the Japanese movie where in the american version. Just thought I would throw that little bit of food for thought at ya. I applaud Sam Raimi for his choice to keep the story in Japan.

Good idea

[Red Moose]

It would probably be a good idea but this seems a pervasive element to modern America's future. The pressure is on to cut custs as it's a quick-n-dirty way to boost profits so looks good on portfolios for investors.

But the backlash is that although outsourcing can stem rising wage costs, you need to keep that group in jobs to buy the shit your company churns out. As a whole, the greed is simply going to voerpower the likes of EA, etc., .

Now, I'm not even in America so my knowledge of US workers is based solely on Slashdot and The Onion, but even I can see that perhaps nationally agreed minimum contracts negotitated by unions for various professions like games programmers, etc., would help.

They can outsource some of the people some of the time, but they can't outsource *all* the people *all* the time. WOuld they simply be prepared to shut up shop and move base to Mumbai? I don't think the corporate big wigs would appreciate that one bit.

Unions go against job security

[AtariAmarok]

"Unions provide job security since they counteract the..."

In real practice, however, unions reduce job security. When the company has to pay everyone more, they have to get rid of workers to make up for it (the money has to come from somewhere), and the company's workforce undergoes reduction.

A good example of this is the famous Teamster's strike at UPS just a few years ago. The Teamsters won their wage demands, and the size of the UPS workforce was reduced in order to pay it.