IGN workers unionizing
IGN Creators Guild announces 87% of eligible editorial and creative employees at games media outlet have already signed union cards
A group of more than 80 IGN employees are headed for unionization, as the newly formed IGN Creators Guild today announced that more than 87% of the eligible members of that group have signed union authorization cards.
The group is unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA, and has said it expects IGN parent Ziff-Davis to voluntarily recognize the union, much as it voluntarily recognized its workers at Mashable and PCMag when they formed the Ziff Davis Creators Guild in 2018.
"IGN is an incredible place to work! But so many of the talented creators that make it so incredible need more support than they're currently getting, especially when it comes to competitive pay and adequate time off," said IGN senior reporter Rebekah Valentine in a press release announcing the union.
"And at a time when our industry faces so much uncertainty amid mass layoffs and the rise of generative AI, it's more important than ever for us to ensure IGN remains a great place to work not just today, but for the future IGN that doesn’t exist yet."
Valentine told GamesIndustry.biz there was nothing preventing the IGN employees from joining the ZDCG instead of forming their own, but they opted to form their own in part due to the site being based in California while ZDCG operates out of New York.
"While we will absolutely be looking at their contract when we go to the bargaining table, our union has a slightly different makeup than theirs and thus slightly different needs," Valentine said. "But ZDCG has been extremely supportive and stand in solidarity with us today."
The guild noted a "need for better diversity and representation at the company" and said online media is becoming less financially viable to staffers, noting a wave of layoffs across gaming journalism outlets in the past year and the need for some staff to live in cities with a high cost of living.
The union said it will be pushing for better pay, layoffs protections, and concrete steps to increase staff diversity, among other goals.
[CORRECTION]: This piece originally said 85% of the eligible members had signed voter cards based on a draft version of the IGN Creators Guild announcement. That had changed to 87% for the final release and this story has been updated accordingly.