The Pacific Media Workers Guild is thrilled to welcome the IGN Creators Guild to our Local and the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America. This group of more than 80 workers comes from IGN, which is one of the preeminent gaming and entertainment news sites in the world. They have 87% of their members signed on to union authorization cards and are seeking voluntary recognition from their owner, Ziff Davis. Please support them by following them on social media, @IGNUnion, signing their petition urging management to recognize their union, and read their mission statement below.
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“IGN has a lot going on” might be the understatement of the century. At any given time, there are countless irons in countless fires as our teams continue to deliver multi-award winning original coverage of games, film and television, technology and more in both written and video spaces. This fact, as well as the awards, the prestige, and the hundreds of millions of monthly visitors, none of it exists without IGN’s incomparable staff. Together, we have navigated a pandemic, multiple entertainment strikes, massive live events seasons, surprising trailer leaks, and whatever other curveballs the multiple industries that we cover have thrown at us. Through it all we have delivered best-in-class articles, videos, guides, live-events, and more, banding together to ensure IGN remains a top player across industries.
Now the IGN creative teams are banding together once more, this time to form the IGN Creators Guild. We are unionizing with the News Guild alongside our colleagues at the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, as well as other leaders in the online media space like the L.A. Times, The New Yorker, Vice, and Time. Of our many goals, we first and foremost want to see IGN grow and thrive as digital media continues to become more and more tumultuous. We have been an institution for over 25 years, and the creators of IGN want to see it continue for 25 more and beyond. But to do so, we need support.
We need fair and competitive pay for all, including those who are asked to live and work in some of the most expensive cities in the United States; affordable health insurance; and better diversity, equity, and inclusion across the board. We need protection against layoffs amid a hectic media landscape, guarantees of reasonable compensation when those layoffs cannot be avoided, as well as protections against generative AI and similar technologies. We need to be supported in reclaiming necessary rest time when we work long, unavoidable extra hours covering major events and releases. We also need clear paths for career growth, including management training to ensure our team leaders are both supportive and effective. And we must avoid future mismanaged pivots and reorgs, as well as address the ethical editorial concerns that have grown with the acquisition of sponsorship-focused subsidiaries.
In the last year alone, our teams have put on remarkable coverage against unbelievable odds. We developed an incredible and unique live-show at a San Diego Comic Con without actors or writers. Our video and editorial teams moved mountains for multiple massive releases and events, including when the most anticipated game trailer of the year leaked early, topping the YouTube charts after a seemingly impossible turn-around. And we continue to put forth unbeatable and groundbreaking original reporting amidst a neverending news cycle across mediums.
It is in that same spirit and drive that we form this union now. We stand together in solidarity with one another in a fight for better wages, earned comp time that is supported and enforced, reasonable protections against layoffs, and fair compensation when they cannot be avoided. We believe in IGN because we believe in each other, and we stand before management now requesting voluntary recognition of our unit, as well as the willingness to negotiate in good faith when the time comes.
The future of IGN is bright if we fight for it. Let us do so together.
