Wizards of the Coast Urges Employees to Consider Their Decision on Unionization

Following last month’s announcement that developers of Magic: The Gathering Arena were seeking to form a union, Wizards of the Coast has responded not by recognizing the union, but by sending letters to employees encouraging them to reconsider.

This information comes from several posts on Bluesky by employees who received the letter. It appears to be written by John Hight, the current president of WotC and a former World of Warcraft GM. The letter suggests that a unionized workforce could lead to worse conditions, hinting that employees might face reduced benefits or wages. WotC management employs familiar union-busting language, referring to the union as a “third-party” and advocating for a “direct working relationship with leadership.” The wording seems to carefully avoid crossing the legal boundaries set by the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits direct threats against employees for unionizing or promises of benefits for rejecting unionization.

Union leaders have noted that they have not received any direct communication from Wizards of the Coast as a union. The company addressed the union petition through a statement to the press but has remained silent since. The union has also claimed that the company has engaged the services of employer advocacy lawyers to assist in union-related matters and has been conducting a “daily union-avoidance campaign” by sending emails to the Arena team that spread information and instill fear among colleagues.

Developers of Magic: The Gathering Arena informed that they are unionizing in response to “recent decisions by WotC and Hasbro leadership” that “have not aligned with the values of their employees.” The union is advocating for improved layoff and remote work protections, as well as clear guidelines regarding generative AI, among other requests. Recently, they announced on their Bluesky account that they have garnered 75-percent support from their colleagues.