Sega of America employees want to unionize

saxman · Jul 24, 2023

It's almost impossible to not poke the bear... but if you want more effort, I'll put it out here:

The raised fist always was, and always has been, a symbol of and by Marxists. It is the Marxists that talk about empowering the people -- "workers rights" they call it. Fight against the "oppressors". And it should be no surprise that Marxists *love* labor unions. I could go so much deeper into this subject, but it will almost certainly flip this discussion on its head, and that's not what I want to do whether there's a forum rule or not. But to round this out simply by saying "oh, it has lots of uses" shows a great deal of ignorance of history. That web search means diddly-squat.

And no, I'm not accusing everyone who supports a union of being a Marxist. I'm not accusing all unions of being Marxist-affiliated or by nature. I'm not even calling the members of AEGIS Marxists. I'm saying whoever advocated for that symbol in the AEGIS logo is either ignorant of what it represents (and sometimes that happens; that accounts for a portion of its usage), or is the real deal. I don't know which. I wouldn't be talking about this had they not picked a symbol predominantly associated with authoritarian regimes, violent revolutionary movements, and economic socialism. I'd really like to know why this symbol was chosen.

Aerosol · Jul 24, 2023

Probably because it's historically been used by, uh, labor unions.

For the 2nd time, can we stop talking about it? You keep saying things that are going to broadly go unchallenged for previously established reasons and I'm starting to wonder if you're doing it on purpose.

Overlord · Jul 24, 2023

In all honesty, I would imagine far more people associate the hammer and sickle with communism than a raised fist, which as noted has far many more connotations.

Aerosol · Jul 25, 2023

I get that the no politics rule makes it difficult to know how to talk about this.

I could just lock the topic, but I'd like to think we can talk about this without saying things that are going to spiral and shoot off into unrelated discussions about political science and history. And you can "counter joy" without doing this, fyi, if you really feel like you need to do that.

If nobody can think of what to say, then the thread just dies, like I said before.

If you've got nothing to add, you don't have to add anything.

Taylor · Jul 25, 2023

I hate to backseat mod but yeah, I don't really see how you can talk about unionization without it being political. The Twitter account is plastered with pro-Democratic Party content. They aren't doing that for kicks and giggles, but because that's a perceived necessity to advance unionization.

Anyhow, I have the echo what most people have said: working conditions at Sega sucks, I hope this makes it better. Before this gets locked, anyone wanna admit they have a crush on me? <3

Aerosol · Jul 25, 2023

If you "hate to backseat mod", then don't.

You could also try reading what I actually wrote. If you need a demonstration of how to talk about this without talking about things likely to shoot off into discussions about political science and, apparently, the virtues of left-wing vs right-wing politics, I'll be happy to show you.

Example:

"I wonder how many of the departments are actually part of this new union. I've not seen any mention of any specifics anywhere?"

If you really want this topic locked, though, I'll be happy to oblige.

Taylor · Jul 25, 2023

It's not like I actively want this thread closed per se, I just feel it's inevitable considering the topic at hand. No one wants a volcano to erupt, but it'll happen anyway. Nothing productive about me being a shit-stirring pessimist though, so I'll answer your question:

https://www.polygon.com/23789856/sega-of-america-workers-win-union-vote-nlrb

The union spans several different departments: marketing, games as a service, localization, product development, and quality assurance. The Irvine office, which opened in 2022, houses up to 235 workers. With this win, AEGIS-CWA is the first video game industry union at a major company that spans multiple departments. Boston-based Activision Blizzard studio Proletariat attempted this earlier in 2023, but ultimately pulled its union petition. Next, the NLRB will have to certify the union before moving into bargaining.
Click to expand...

Also further contextualizes why this is happening:

Sega Sammy, the holding company for Sega and Sammy Corporation, gave its Japan-based employees a 30% salary increase in February, but it did not extend outside of Japan.
Click to expand...

Black Squirrel · Jul 25, 2023

I know what you could discuss!

Tiberious · Aug 1, 2023

In other words, nothing of value. Just go ahead and close this then.

Of course, I know the real reason that the 'no politics' rule exists, and that's because one side literally cannot win a debate without resorting to censorship, and if we did start discussing the topic, well, suddenly there'd be a lot of that. I wonder why.

Ch1pper · Aug 1, 2023

Or you could, ya know, not instigate.

MykonosFan · Aug 1, 2023

Alas, unionization thread. Fare thee well.

Aerosol · Aug 1, 2023

Posts like that are why the no politics rule was even instigated in the first place. A Sonic the Hedgehog forum is the wrong place to have a "winning and losing" mindset when it comes to political discussions. People always get personal, someone ends up ticked off, and it sours the vibe of the whole place.

Some of you can't be trusted to talk *about* political topics without trying to win an argument no-one was having, apparently. I'm disappointed.

Sega of America employees want to unionize

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