Developers at Proletariat have shed some more light on its recent withdrawal to have a union vote. Some workers argued that things partially fell apart due to conflicts with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Damon Iannuzzelli, a co-founder and art director at the studio, called it a “really challenging situation.” He alleged that the CWA had “adversarial communication tactics,” and overall refused to make clear which workers were eligible to join the union.
The CWA announced the withdrawal of the Proletariat Workers Alliance (PWA) with blame pointed at Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak, alleging he “demoralized and disempowered” the union efforts. Previously, it was reported that studio management wouldn’t voluntarily recognize the PWA after its formation in late December 2022.
Regarding Sivak, Iannuzzelli claimed the CEO “conducted himself with honor, dignity, respect and empathy for the entire team. […] It’s dismaying to see someone else’s agenda and misinformation rewrite the history and redefine who he is as person.”
“It’s hard to work together with your peers when the CWA is fanning the flames they lit,” claimed studio artist Kat Dolan. Speaking to Axios, she called the CWA’s claims “laughably fabricated,” and said studio management was equal parts “neutral and supportive” on unionization.
Dustin Yost, a programmer who was featured in the CWA’s statement on Proletariat’s withdrawal, backed up Iannuzzelli’s statement. “There’s more complex nuance to the story that I couldn’t convey in that statement…Our team is full of folks with very complex PoVs.”
Even though the union isn’t going through at the moment, Iannuzelli believes that unions have a place in the game industry, saying “there’s a way unions could be successfully implemented in game-dev. I am pro-labor, but I do not believe in a moral obligation regardless of the context.”