Creators of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering unionize and speak out against management forcing AI on them at Wizards of the Coast

Developers behind Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering have announced they're unionizing under United Wizards of the Coast – CWA. Workers are asking Wizards of the Coast to voluntarily recognize the organization. Among their demands is protection from what they describe as growing pressure from management to adopt AI.

United Wizards of the Coast first announced itself in April, when it included only the developers of the digital card game Magic: The Gathering Arena. Now staff working on Dungeons & Dragons, D&D Beyond, Magic: The Gathering, and Duel Masters have declared their intent to join.

The union is backed by the Communication Workers of America (CWA), a US labor union for communications workers. CWA has previously helped organize unions at Activision and Xbox.

Wizards of the Coast has until October 13 to respond to the request for voluntary recognition. When the MTG Arena developers first announced their plans to organize, management did not respond to a similar request. The union still won its election in June.

For now, members are asking fans for support by signing an online petition. It lists the following demands:

• fair wages

• reliable and easily accessible healthcare

• remote work protections

• protection against the encroachment of AI

According to the union, management is pushing employees to adopt neural networks.

Leadership, without regard for the desires of our teams, has pushed for adoption of LLMs and generative AI. This has to stop; our teams deserve a robust and enforceable AI policy that aligns with our goals and values.

The union has already filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If Wizards of the Coast refuses to recognize the organization voluntarily, a vote among employees and an NLRB decision will settle the matter.