Developers of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering have officially formed a union. Recently, developers of these two major tabletop games announced they are joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union for Wizards of the Coast and are calling on the company to voluntarily recognize the union. One of their core demands is to resist the management's ongoing push to adopt AI technologies.
The CWA Wizards of the Coast Union was publicly established in April this year, initially comprising only developers of the digital card game Magic: The Gathering Arena. Now, staff from Dungeons & Dragons, D&D Beyond, Magic: The Gathering, and Duel Masters have all announced plans to join the union. The unionization effort is supported by the Communications Workers of America, which has previously helped employees at publishers like Activision and Xbox form unions.
Wizards of the Coast must respond to the union's request for voluntary recognition by October 13. Previously, when developers of Magic: The Gathering Arena first announced the formation of their union, Wizards of the Coast did not respond to the voluntary recognition request within the deadline, but the union ultimately won the election in June.
Currently, the union is calling on fans to show their support by signing an online petition. In addition to demands such as "fair pay," "reliable and accessible healthcare," and "job security for remote work," the union has explicitly demanded "protection against AI encroachment."
The union stated: "Management is forcibly pushing the implementation of large language models and generative AI against the team's wishes. This behavior must stop; our team needs a comprehensive and binding AI policy that aligns with our goals and values."
The union has filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If Wizards of the Coast refuses to voluntarily recognize the union, employees will vote, and the NLRB will intervene to facilitate the process.