SAG-AFTRA Seeks Approval for Second Strike Against Video Game Companies::SAG-AFTRA on Friday called for a strike authorization vote as it prepares to negotiate a new video game contract.

  • Flying Squid
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    979 months ago

    Cool. I hope it gets other areas of the game industry to unionize. They deserve it.

    • z3rOR0ne
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      359 months ago

      Here here! Let the money I spend go to the people who actually made the fucking product!!

    • Guy Dudeman
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      219 months ago

      Visual Effects checking in.

      Although I hope it doesn’t go the way the rest of the entertainment industry has, where the company colludes with the union leadership and negotiates essentially a freelance gig style of work, where you are just a day-hire and can be dropped off the schedule at a moment’s notice, and have no healthcare coverage or retirement.

      • Flying Squid
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        649 months ago

        Do you like weekends? Thank unions. Do you like sick pay? Thank unions. Do you like overtime pay? Thank unions.

        Unions make your job better even if you’re not in one by fighting for your rights as much as theirs. They want your pay to be as good as their pay.

        • @PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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          19 months ago

          Our union calendars love mentioning that shit, but it’s like me bragging about a second grade vocabulary test. Our union leadership recommended we accept a contract that 80% of the members voted against. I’m not going to get into pension and 401k fuckery, but we can’t just dogmatically say unions are great and cite 100 year old wins. Unions need to work for their dues.

        • @madthumbs@lemmy.world
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          -269 months ago

          Do you like dead beat workers bringing down your earning potential? - Thank unions! DO you like having your employer not able to provide suitable work for you when injured? -Thank unions! Do you like someone forcing you to fork over a portion of your taxable income? - Thank unions! Do you like people abusing ‘sick time’? - Thank unions!

          • @scv@discuss.online
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            179 months ago

            It’s kind of funny how you are wrong in every way.

            • Union workers earn 20% more.
            • You shouldn’t work while injured. Worker’s comp is a thing.
            • You pay a dime to get a dollar.
            • It’s not abuse to take sick time, but you already stated people should work injured.

            Thank unions.

            • @madthumbs@lemmy.world
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              -189 months ago

              Union workers can and do make minimum wage even with plenty of experience and years on the job. Unions take dues on that minimum wage, so they take home even less. Unions target higher paying jobs for your propaganda statistic. People lose union jobs because they aren’t permitted to work jobs they can perform. Good workers don’t want to sit out temporarily ‘collecting’ like the lazy people that like unions.

              • @PinkPanther@sh.itjust.works
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                39 months ago

                I heard unions are not a thing in China and Russia. I recommend you migrate to either for two years, then come back and tell us if you want unions or not.

                • @madthumbs@lemmy.world
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                  -49 months ago

                  There are no unions in self employment. I recommend you stop leeching off others and try working for your self.

          • arthurpizza
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            159 months ago

            A lot of “Temporary Embarrassed Billionaire” vibes.

          • Flying Squid
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            139 months ago

            Yes, blame your co-workers for everything. It must be their faults. They’re all “deadbeats” and “abusers.”

            Also, your job is supposed to provide for you when you’re injured.

              • Flying Squid
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                09 months ago

                It’s mooching to get compensated for injuries while at work? Really?

              • Flying Squid
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                69 months ago

                Sure they would have. And worked 10 hour days 7 days a week with no overtime or safety protections or health insurance.

                • @orrk@lemmy.world
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                  39 months ago

                  10 hours? before Unions, it was 16 hours! and people would sleep on literal ropes! look up the origin of hangover

      • ThrowawayOnLemmy
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        259 months ago

        I know that’s what the work training video tells you, but that is what the businesses want you to think.

        • @madthumbs@lemmy.world
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          -99 months ago

          I’m 52 years old. I learned from experience having been in multiple unions. Keep going with assumptions and propaganda. -Don’t forget to ‘collectively’ down-vote what you can’t reason against.

      • Guy Dudeman
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        69 months ago

        Rule of the internet: If you want to know the true answer to a question, confidently post the wrong answer and inevitably someone who knows will reply to correct you.

      • @linearchaos@lemmy.world
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        19 months ago

        You’re not entirely wrong. If there is a union, it exists because something bad has happened. People don’t just sit around and go “you know we should organize to protect ourselves from companies”. Companies thoroughly fvck people over then they organize to protect themselves.

        Unions are the lesser of two evils between unionization and getting fvcked by companies.

        You shouldn’t have to pay a mediating company to exist to make sure you get fair wages vacation and work, but it certainly didn’t come out of nowhere.

  • @hactar42@lemmy.world
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    329 months ago

    For those like me who have only heard it called SAG, SAG-AFTRA is Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Since I guess the article assumes everyone knows that already.

  • arthurpizza
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    329 months ago

    For the few pushing back on this, clearly you have no idea how important the power of collective bargaining is. We need class solidarity now more than ever. STRIKE!

    • @ky56@aussie.zone
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      29 months ago

      I want to see the VFX artists and game programmers each unionize during this time. There isn’t a better bargaining time than now.

  • @Jaded@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    249 months ago

    Anyone know what they mean when they ask for protection from AI? Voice synth is going to be very big for video games seeing the massive amount of NPCs certain games have. I don’t think Microsoft is the kind to play ball and limit what they can do with AI

    • @teamonkey@lemm.ee
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      379 months ago

      I think it’s making sure that they can’t record their voice in a single session and have it synthesised forevermore.

      • @Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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        -119 months ago

        No that’s just what would be reasonable, they’re demanding much heavier restrictions on use of emerging technologies.

        • @orrk@lemmy.world
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          19 months ago

          to be fair, sometimes restrictions on emerging technologies aren’t a bad thing

          • @Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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            19 months ago

            That’s an opinion that should be debated on it’s merits, misrepresenting the demands of a group because it’s easier to get people to agree with a different version isn’t good - also it kinda makes it seem the actual demands are unreasonable and most people wouldn’t agree unless misrepresented.

    • @orrk@lemmy.world
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      29 months ago

      but we have been complaining about exactly that, even before this whole thing started, yet the “paying people will make everything more expensive” crowd tends to be really quiet when these companies are bragging about record profits fiscal quarter after fiscal quarter as everything is getting more expensive at a record pace!