Wizards of the Coast workers win union

Victory at local game developer shows “change is possible when workers stand together,” per UWOTC-CWA

RENTON, WA (June 25, 2026) — The workers who bring Magic the Gathering: Arena to life have officially elected their union in a landslide, per United Wizards of the Coast, organized with the Communications Workers of America (UWOTC-CWA). Now, workers are looking ahead to negotiating a first collective bargaining agreement at the Renton-based studio.

Several members of the bargaining unit spoke with The STAND in May to outline their reasons for organizing and what they’d hope to achieve through a union contract. Workers shared concerns about job security in an industry increasingly defined by churn-and-burn staffing practices, as well as no clear policies regarding AI use and unsustainable workloads, including periods of mandatory, unpaid overtime.

Photo: UWOTC-CWA

Workers also told The STAND that they acted to secure a voice on the job partly in response to a new “return to office” push from management that effectively amounted to mandatory, unpaid relocation for workers who were hired remotely and promised continued remote work. Workers raised concerns with management, but weren’t heard, said Rogue Kessler, a digital product manager at Wizards of the Coast.

“It speaks to this broader our-way-or-the-highway attitude that we’ve been getting from leadership on all of our issues,” said Rogue. “We’ve been getting dismissed, sometimes very disrespectfully, and told ‘if you don’t like it, go look for a job somewhere else.’”

Rather than leave, workers chose to organize. Initially, MTG: Arena developers asked management for voluntary recognition of their union, which already had supermajority support when the organizing drive went public. But workers also filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board, and when that recognition was not forthcoming, started to vote to officially elect their union in early June.

In a statement, UWOTC-CWA celebrated the win and thanked the many players, labor siblings, and community members nationwide who supported their organizing campaign.

“To the thousands who signed our petition letter, the journalists who let us tell our own story, every person who reached out with words of encouragement, our stewards at the CWA who helped guide us, we cannot thank you enough for your support.”

Their statement continued: “We stand on the shoulders of giants, and we can only hope that our victory in turn inspires others to start unionizing at their own workplaces. Change is possible when workers stand together!”