Over 100 Developers of Just Cause, Contraband at Avalanche Studios Have Unionized

ign.com:

Over 100 developers at Avalanche Studios Group, the studio behind the Just Cause franchise and upcoming Xbox-exclusive Contraband, have joined Swedish trade union Unionen. And now, they are bargaining with Avalanche management over their contract.

IGN confirmed the news today with an Avalanche Studios union representative, as well as a representative of Unionen and Avalanche PR. Of roughly 500 employees at Avalanche, over 100 of them are members of Unionen. Earlier this year, these members formed a "club," or local union board, in order to bargain directly with Avalanche management over specific benefits. Negotiations began last week and are ongoing, and additionally include employees who are members of a different union, Sveriges Ingenjörer.

Union membership in Sweden works somewhat differently than many of the studio unions we've seen in the United States thus far. In Sweden, eligible workers are allowed to join a trade union at any time without a union election at their workplace, and a long history of collective bargaining in the country has resulted in a deep intertwining of unions, companies, and labor laws. Roughly 70% of the country is involved in a union (per data shared by Unionen), and it's more common to have a union at one's workplace than not. This, however, marks the first time unions have gone to the bargaining table with Avalanche in its 20 year history.

Because of high membership and Sweden's union history and labor laws, trade unions broadly have the power to negotiate general working conditions (such as salaries and sick leave) for workers in their respective sectors, country-wide. However, further and more specific negotiations are able to take place at a company level if enough employees become members