Motion Capture Workers at ‘NBA 2K’ Studio Vote to Unionize With IATSE
Motion-capture workers at the prominent video game company behind NBA 2K and WWE 2K have chosen to unionize with Hollywood crew union IATSE.
Fifteen workers at 2K’s motion capture studio in Petaluma, California voted to unionize with IATSE in a National Labor Relations Board election that took place on Friday morning, while six voted against unionizing. All 21 workers that are in the proposed bargaining unit at the gaming studio — including stage technicians, engineers, animators and recording and audio specialists — took part in the vote.
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As long as no objections are filed within the next five days, the results of the representation election will be certified. “The NLRB has counted the ballots, and initial results indicate that the majority of employees who voted chose to unionize with IATSE,” a 2K spokesperson stated. “We respect the decision of our team members and appreciate everyone who participated in the election.”
IATSE is positioning this organizing victory as the first successful unionization push at a motion capture studio in the video game industry. “This victory is not just about one studio; it’s about the future of work in the video game industry,” said the union’s international president Matthew Loeb in a statement. Loeb added that he believed the victory at 2K would “inspire others in the industry to follow suit.”
IATSE, which has been attempting to organize the video game industry for years, went public with the drive on Oct. 23 as it filed for an NLRB election. The union stated at the time that the company had not previously responded to the labor group’s request for voluntary recognition, an account that a 2K spokesperson appeared to confirm. The company said it respected the rights of employees to choose whether or not to unionize through “informed voting.”
According to IATSE, organizing 2K workers sought higher wages, greater job security and more clarity on the job responsibilities associated with particular titles. In October the union added that the group was looking to improve working conditions.
Now, 2K motion capture workers will be able to bargain over those priorities as they negotiate their first contract. Citing the “severe” state of the video game industry and the threat that AI poses to human workers, 2K motion capture tools engineer Ryan Kwok said in a statement on Friday, “We hope to bargain in good faith to make this studio’s processes more transparent, democratic, and equitable for all of us.”
IATSE notched its first video game industry win in the fall of 2023 when staffers at Workinman Interactive voted in an NLRB election to join the union. The Rochester, New York-based studio works with several clients that are traditional Hollywood employers, including Nickelodeon and Disney. The union does not yet have a first contract.
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