UNITED PAIZO WORKERS

[NicoleH]

A large portion of the Paizo TTRPG community is on socials such as twitter, but like myself a year ago, many aren't. With the recent announcement of numerous Paizo employees asking for a seat at the table in their own house of work, I think it's important to share their words here.

"We, the Paizo workers, recognize that workplace issues shouldn’t be management’s responsibility to solve in a vacuum, and we want to have a seat at the table for discussions on our working conditions and livelihoods. We believe our support is invaluable to management as we all work to make Paizo the best it can be.

For this reason we, the United Paizo Workers (UPW), are invoking our right to organize and administer a vote to form a union. We are working closely with Communications Workers of America (CWA), who have helped organize and represent other workers in the entertainment and gaming industries. We want Paizo and the products we make together to be successful, and to nurture a positive work environment for all staff. We believe that our union is the best avenue with which we as employees can help management achieve that."

I fully support the Unionization of Paizo, and would love to reinstate my subscriptions if Paizo voluntarily recognizes this.
Posting links appropriate to the conversation:

United Paizo Workers Blog and Merch

United Paizo Workers Twitter

More information and support

Unionize Paizo and make steps toward #PaizoAccountability

[Leon Aquilla]

Saw this. The success rate for unionization among publications is pretty low at the moment, but anything's possible I suppose.

I support anyone trying to make their paper. I won't make my purchases contingent on a closed shop though.

It's about quality, not solidarity for me.

[Andrew Mullen]

Paizo management, recognize the union.
Solidarity forever!

[Umbral Reaver]

Yes!

[Joe Wells]

I fully support United Paizo Workers and ask Paizo management to voluntarily recognize UPW swiftly

[thejeff]

Yes. This is great news. Paizo recognizing a union would go a long way to easing my concerns.

[Yoshua]

As a loyal customer for years. I fully support your work towards unionizing.

My hopes is that this relationship between leadership and employees can be beneficial to everyone involved.

[Ruvaid J Virk]

Standing in solidarity with the United Paizo Workers!

[Kevin Mack]

Hopefully this works out for them

[Steve Geddes]

I have been missing being a customer of Paizo. I would dearly like to resume my support of the company. However, I have lost trust in the organisation. Trust that needs to be won back if Paizo wants any money from me in the future.

Recognising the union is an essential step in that process.

[Fergie]

I still think the workers should own at least a part of the company, but this is a great first start!
Comrade Anklebiter disappears for a while, and then a Union forms? What has that little goblin been up to?
United We Stand!
Judas Priest on BBC

[AnimatedPaper]

Absolutely thrilled to see this, and echo the calls for management to voluntarily recognize the union.

Paizo has pushed the industry forward more than once; I would certainly like to see it happen again.

[NightTrace]

Already sent in my message of support asking the execs to recognize the union, and also shared that I'd restart all of my subs if they do so.

Also: Got a t-shirt :D

[Derry L. Zimeye]

Absolutely phenomenal to see! This is history in the making for TTRPG. Hopefully, the jerkwads who called all of this a witch hunt will get a clue now (and maybe pigs will fly?). Vive la Revolution!

[Mimski]

I support this and hope the company will recognise the Union.

[Boosterblue]

YES!!!

This has been exactly what I've wanted to see. UNION STRONG! If Paizo recognizes the Union, the collective bargaining contract will give employees a lot more ability to protest awful working conditions and management actions. This is the best thing for accountability that Paizo could do.

Recognize the Union, Paizo. I'll start buying books again.

[Kurt Wasiluk]

I'm very happy to see this news. I love Paizo products and value the fantastic Paizo employees (and contractors) who provide so much happiness to the lives of my friends and me. I've been disturbed about both old and recent revelations. It all undermines the loyalty I've felt for the company for the past 14+ years, especially knowing the people behind these products I love are hurting. The Sara and Diego news was especially disappointing, knowing how clearly loved these two are by their coworkers and Paizo customers. While I know unions can create new business challenges, I'm happy that this route can help keep the people I support engaged and healthy. It may cost more to me as a customer, but these products are worth it.

I hope management responds positively and collaboratively with the union to restore Paizo in my mind as the most awesome company out there. #unionizepaizo

[Mergy]

I cannot get over how delighted I was at seeing these tweets. Power to the workers, always. Let us know how we help.

[WatersLethe]

I hope they set up a donation button or Kofi or something, so I can support them without buying some random junk I don't need!

[Leg o' Lamb]

WatersLethe wrote:

I hope they set up a donation button or Kofi or something, so I can support them without buying some random junk I don't need!

While that is a great idea, there is a greater issue at play. If you just gave them a bunch of money, they will need to log that as a contribution and report it. For everyone that gives them money. A webstore allows them to just log one contributor.

I might be confusing or conflating campaign finance laws, but I don't think so. I will happily edit or delete if someone can give a definitive answer.

[Porridge]

This is great news!

[proto.bruce]

Very excited to support a company that works with unionized workers. There are a ton of great examples of owners and unions working together, and encourage Paizo owners and management to seek out ways of recognizing the union as legitimate and necessary for the sustainability of their business model.

THIS is how you differentiate in the market - not just in your progressive content, but in your actions and governance model.

[keftiu]

Solidarity to the workers.

This is really, really inspiring stuff.

[Pip-Squeak]

I look forward to championing Paizo once they recognize the union. I'll go straight to the FLGS and pick up a slew of books the moment they announce their full support!

[David knott 242]

I wish them luck, but I do see that they suffer from the same problem as my company -- the union will be representing Paizo alone and not any of their competitors, which limits their leverage. Imagine what they could do if the same union also represented the employees at WotC.

With the union as is, Paizo management would have to be complete idiots not to recognize it.

[firegazer]

I felt so awful when Pathfinder Infinite dropped and all of the excitement I WANTED to feel was instantly snuffed by knowing I'd never engage with a Paizo product ever again.

I will actually feel that excitement again if this union gets recognised.

[Andrew Sturtevant]

Here to show my support! I've sent my e-mail and been tweeting all afternoon about it!

Come on Paizo Execs, you've published these stories when it's the workers vs. the company. You're the company that published Fly Free or Die! A story about workers. Don't be like EJ Corp!

It's time for you to voluntarily recognize this Union!

[The Drunken Dragon]

I just sent in my emails to management calling on them to recognize the union. This would be a fantastic first step from management to earn my trust back. I still bought some products, but the excitement and joy I'd normally feel has definitely been lessened by the litany of allegations against Paizo management. If even a fraction of what was said is true (and I know some of it is), that's awful and granting Paizo's staff collective bargaining power would go a long way towards remedying this and protecting them in the future. It's not an immediate fix, sure, but it's something that *should* exist.

I support the union! I had contemplated dropping all subscriptions and not purchasing more products after the end of the AP cycle. But if this union is recognized, I'd feel a heckuva lot more comfortable buying from Paizo again.

[Leg o' Lamb]

David knott 242 wrote:

With the union as is, Paizo management would have to be complete idiots not to recognize it.

Let's not be hasty now.

[Andrew Sturtevant]

David knott 242 wrote:

I wish them luck, but I do see that they suffer from the same problem as my company -- the union will be representing Paizo alone and not any of their competitors, which limits their leverage. Imagine what they could do if the same union also represented the employees at WotC.

With the union as is, Paizo management would have to be complete idiots not to recognize it.

I can't speak for anybody else, but its my hope that if Paizo can unionize the staffers at larger 3pp like Kobold Press will look to unionize under CWA as well and then that will snowball into WotC staffers looking to do the same.

It might be asking a lot of this particular movement, but it could be the start to something bigger than just Paizo.

[keftiu]

What email are people contacting management through?

EDIT: This template here https://supportpaizoworkers.carrd.co/#support !

[Andrew Sturtevant]

keftiu wrote:

What email are people contacting management through?

This Support Page has information about e-mail addresses and even templates to send

[Sparrowhawk_92]

Andrew Sturtevant wrote:

I can't speak for anybody else, but its my hope that if Paizo can unionize the staffers at larger 3pp like Kobold Press will look to unionize under CWA as well and then that will snowball into WotC staffers looking to do the same.

It might be asking a lot of this particular movement, but it could be the start to something bigger than just Paizo.

The games industry in general (beyond just the TTRPG space) has been in desperate need for unionization for some time. This is a huge step and I am incredibly proud of all the folks at Paizo for stepping up for their fellow workers.

[silversarcasm]

Just sent in my email! Absolutely thrilled to see the workers unionising and I stand with them in solidarity! There is power in a union!

[Slothsy]

Recognize the union! I can't wait to point my shelf of books and say yeah, they're union-made. This is a real opportunity to be an industry leader - don't squander it!

[David knott 242]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

David knott 242 wrote:

With the union as is, Paizo management would have to be complete idiots not to recognize it.

Let's not be hasty now.

Well, at the moment it does seem that this union solves more problems for management than it does for the employees. The only resistance I could see them putting up to it is insisting on a vote of the employees to decide the issue -- and I think we can all predict the outcome of that vote.

It is the relationship between this union and Paizo management after it is recognized that will be the real test of the union's effectiveness for the employees.

[Randal T Meyer]

I look forward to hearing that the union is recognized so that I can resubscribe!

[Kalindlara]

I've been quiet for a while, but I have to say: I stand in solidarity with all the wonderful people I've worked with at Paizo, and with all the people I've never had a chance to work with (yet!) who deserve rights and representation all the same.

I hope management recognizes the union swiftly, so that we can get back to making a world we can be proud of, secure in the knowledge that the people who make it happen are able to get by.

[Cori Marie]

I sent my email, and made note that I'm getting the last books of Strength of Thousands and then will evaluate my subscriptions. If they've not recognized the union by then, I'll cancel and send another email saying why.

[Leg o' Lamb]

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

[MattCaulder]

Absolutely standing in solidarity with United Paizo Workers. Hoping that Paizo management recognizes this opportunity to do the best thing for their workers and to set an amazing example in the TTRPG market.

[Cori Marie]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

The Union literally is asking for calls to recognize? I feel like that's not premature.

[thunderspirit]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

This is reasonable; if we take Aaron's statement that the Paizo headcount is under 80 at face value, then there aren't yet enough signatories to constitute 50% +1 of the workplace.

[The-Magic-Sword]

This is a good thing, and would make me far more comfortable continuing my subscriptions and supporting Paizo, knowing that there's a collective bargaining agreement in place for the people who make the game. By and large, many of the people signed onto this are the people who play the largest roles in making the products worth buying over your competitors offerings.

[Leg o' Lamb]

thunderspirit wrote:

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

This is reasonable; if we take Aaron's statement that the Paizo headcount is under 80 at face value, then there aren't yet enough signatories to constitute 50% +1 of the workplace.

Yep, and then they can schedule the vote.

[Themetricsystem]

This is the way. #UnionizePaizo

[keftiu]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

Here is them asking people to email management asking them to recognize the union.

[Diego Valdez]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

This is reasonable; if we take Aaron's statement that the Paizo headcount is under 80 at face value, then there aren't yet enough signatories to constitute 50% +1 of the workplace.

Of the 75ish total employees when I left, 30+ eligible employees is in fact a majority. In fact it’s a super majority. People managers and some middle managers aren’t eligible.

[GameDesignerDM]

Sent in my letter of support!

[Leg o' Lamb]

keftiu wrote:

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

Calls to recognize are a bit premature. To my knowledge they have not voted whether to form one or not. This is simply a call to action, call to arms alerting management this is the path employees are exploring. Between now and the actual vote to unionize is the critical time.

If the vote is yes, then we will see how the sausage is made.

Here is them asking people to email management asking them to recognize the union.

If that is the case, then why not say when the vote to unionize happened and let us know us know that it passed by "an overwhelming amount"*?

*:

standard union boilerplate, ;)