As a long-time fan and supporter of League of Legends, I find myself deeply troubled by the ongoing strike between SAG-AFTRA and Formosa Inc. It’s disheartening to see such a beloved game caught in the crossfire of labor disputes.
SAG-AFTRA, a union representing actors, has decided to take action against League of Legends due to what they claim is a blatant breach of labor law by Formosa Inc., the studio that provides Riot Games with voice and motion capture content. The union has filed an accusation of unfair labor practices against Formosa. Notably, this strike stands out because previously, League Of Legends had been exempted from such work stoppages, enabling its performers associated with unions to keep working on the game.
It seems Formosa has taken an action that significantly angered the guild. According to SAG-AFTRA’s recent statement, they claim that Formosa attempted to move forward with one of their struck games by secretly transferring it to a subsidiary company. Since the strike is ongoing, working on such projects, including voice acting or motion capture, is prohibited. The allegation further states that after the game was transferred, casting notices were issued seeking non-union talent, which would bypass the union rules during the strike.
Today, SAG-AFTRA initiated a strike action against the widely played game, League of Legends, following an attempt by the game’s producer to undermine the ongoing video game strike. (1/2)
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) September 24, 2024
The clandestine and individual move by the company to shift union tasks to a non-union front organization is deemed unlawful and shocking, an attempt to dodge a strike and undermine performers’ labor rights. Given Formosa’s questionable labor practices, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director, in consultation with the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee, has ordered a work stoppage for League of Legends, one of their flagship games. Therefore, all SAG-AFTRA members are instructed to immediately halt delivering covered services to League of Legends. The game will be marked as a struck game on the union’s search platform.
In essence, workers from a gaming industry guild, who are mainly voice actors and motion-capture artists, have recently gone on strike due to issues concerning AI. Formosa Interactive is one of the ten significant gaming companies they were negotiating with when the strike started in late July. This group, often referred to as the collective bargaining team, also includes companies like Activision Productions Inc., Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions, WB Games Inc., and others at the negotiation table.
Sarah Elmaleh, chair of the League of Legends negotiating committee for SAG-AFTRA’s interactive media agreement, stated that “League of Legends is a game featuring champions.” Instead of valuing the union performers who use their exceptional skills and expertise to breathe life into beloved characters, Formosa opted to attempt evasion and abandonment. This underhanded behavior is disheartening from an organization with a history of commitment to unions. Such questionable actions are avoidable when our union committee and staff share the same enthusiasm for creating protected work as performers do for collaborating with game developers, and cherish this line of work.
Currently, neither the spokesperson from the bargaining group nor Riot Games/Formosa Inc. have issued any response or official statement concerning SAG-AFTRA’s recent action. TopMob has attempted to get a comment from Riot, but so far, there has been no reply. In contrast, SAG-AFTRA has posted a tweet saying, “We’re not laughing about LoL,” without providing further context.
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2024-09-24 23:39