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The rest is just more details. We bargained into the night, made a lot of progress in bringing both sides together, but reached an impasse by one in the morning. They wouldn’t budge on minimum salaries and several other key demands. It looked like we’d be hitting the picket line again on Monday, but as our lead negotiator reminded us, a lot can happen in 48 hours.

On Saturday, the Union continued planning its next escalation campaign—we had some interesting tactics in the works, including a field trip to Boston, where our parent company Great Hill Partners resides—but around 10 a.m. on Sunday came an unexpected message. The company was offering a settlement package that largely fulfilled the key asks we were prepared to continue striking for. Acceptance was contingent on the unit returning to work on Monday.

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You’ll have noticed we’ve returned to work.

A group of people sit around a table in a conference room.
Called away from the rally, the GMG bargaining committee gathered at the offices of the Writers Guild of America, East, alongside teleconferenced colleagues, for a sudden bargaining session that lasted into the next morning.
Photo: Kotaku
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While I can’t speak for everyone in the Union, I think most of us are quite pleased with the new contract. You can read specifics of what we won on the GMG Union website, but suffice it to say we just made significant strides toward making G/O Media a better place for editorial creatives to do their work.

If Gawker had never organized in 2015, when it joined with Writers Guild of America, East to form the first-ever union shop of digital media workers, we would not have been able to so successfully advocate for our rights last week (and make a little history ourselves by launching the first open-ended strike by a digital media shop). When the “free market” leaves workers in the lurch, unions pick up the slack.

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So that’s what we did last week, a week that also saw the 100th (and counting) Starbucks location petition for union recognition, Major League Baseball players continue to bargain, New York-area REI workers form that retail chain’s first-ever union, Hershey’s chocolate workers holding a union vote, and The New York TImes’ tech workers announcing the successful organization of their own ranks. I’m pleased we were able to participate in the emerging narrative of organized labor’s resurgence in the United States and proud of my editorial colleagues across the unit, whose solidarity was only matched by their discipline, camaraderie, and good humor.

And, of course, thanks must go to those of you, our readers, who respected our digital picket line, sent words of encouragement, and contributed to our (wildly successful!) strike fund. Thank you very much.

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A woman poses with her dog in front of the G/O Media offices in New York City.
One essential component of a successful union action is an array of cute dogs.
Photo: Kotaku

There’s an old union saying that a win for one is a win for all, so we hope the events of this past week inspire other workers, especially in games and media, to more closely examine the conditions under which they labor and better understand the substantial power they possess when they organize to act collectively.

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The games industry in particular is an extremely abusive space, which has only become more evident with the last year’s disturbing disclosures from Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and other major companies. Labor organizing is one potentially potent remedy for such maladies. As such, Kotaku will continue to stand in solidarity with pioneering groups like ABK Worker’s Alliance, which is fighting to right the wrongs of those in power at Activision Blizzard and create a better future for all of its workers.

A better, more humane games industry is possible, yet the bosses lack both the will and the incentive needed to make that a reality. But if workers across the industry recognize their common interests and begin to act collectively, real progress would finally be within reach. So what are we waiting for?

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