A More Pixelated Union: A Look at the Path to Unionization in the Video Game Industry under Trump’s National Labor Relations Board

Authors

William C. Selfridge, University of Miami School of Law

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

In the past twenty years, the video game industry has become one of the largest entertainment industries not only in the United States but in the entire world. Yet as video game sales continue to increase at massive rates, it seems the conditions for those making the games have not improved with it, at least according to some in the know. While other entertainment industries have moved to unionize, those in the video game industry have yet to take that leap. To make matters worse, during the administration of President Donald J. Trump, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) shifted labor law against employees and unions by making decisions that were more employer friendly, and by all accounts, it seems this conservative pivot in labor law will continue long after President Trump leaves the White House. Given the current attitudes on unions and the recent decisions by Trump’s NLRB, what would it even take for video game developers to unionize? This comment will discuss the barriers to unionization in the video game industry based on recent NLRB decisions and the overall process of unionizing itself.

Recommended Citation

William C. Selfridge, A More Pixelated Union: A Look at the Path to Unionization in the Video Game Industry under Trump’s National Labor Relations Board, 29 U. MIA Bus. L. Rev. 164 (2021)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umblr/vol29/iss1/9