Magic: The Gathering Arena devs' union officially elected, following claims Wizards of the Coast were dragging their heels on voluntary recognition

United Wizards of the Coast - CWA hope to secure a ratified contract soon

United Wizards of the Coast - CWA, a union Magic: The Gathering Arena developers voted in favour of forming earlier this year, has now officially been elected. The union filed an election petition with the US National Labor Relations Board back in April, while also requesting that Wizards of the Coast voluntarily recognise them. The workers claimed in May that the company were dragging their heels on the latter, having missed a deadline.

"Today is a momentous day for the workers of Arena! After months of planning, waiting and organising," United Wizards of the Coast - CWA posted on social media and to their website yesterday, June 23rd. Our dream is finally a reality; the votes have been counted, and our union of UWOTC-CWA has been officially elected. From this day forward, we have a union!" The union added that they "hope to share good news of a ratified contract with all of you soon".

Today is a momentous day for the workers of Arena! After months of planning, waiting and organizing, our dream is finally a reality; the votes have been counted, and our union of UWOTC-CWA has been officially elected. From this day forward, we have a union!

Based on the fact that the union posted on June 2nd that they'd kicked off the NLRB election process for recognition and were expecting the results in a couple of weeks, it appears voluntary recognition from Wizards of the Coast wasn't forthcoming. As of late April, the company had told Kotaku they had "received the filing", were "reviewing it carefully" and would "respond through the appropriate process".

I've reached out to Wizards of the Coast for comment.

Upon initially voting in favour of unionisation, United Wizards of the Coast - CWA's members cited hopes to push for better protections against layoffs, changes to remote working policies, use of generative AI, and mandatory crunch. "I’m hopeful about what we can build here and being clear-eyed about why it’s necessary," MTG Arena senior software development engineer and union member Damien Wilson said back then. "This isn’t just something that affects Wizards of the Coast; it’s how most American workplaces are set up: investor profit above all, even if it hurts those behind the products we all know and love."

Solidarity and best of luck to these unionised Magic: The Gathering Arena devs.