Wizards of the Coast Declines to Recognize D&D Union

AT THE ASHFORGE — Wizards of the Coast will not voluntarily recognize the union formed by its Dungeons & Dragons team and Studio X, so the question goes to a secret-ballot election run by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The workers had asked for recognition by October 13. On October 14 the union, United Wizards of the Coast-CWA, posted that the company had declined, and a Wizards spokesperson confirmed it to Wargamer. No vote date has been set.

The whole workforce at the Ashforge is me, the bellows, and an apprentice who mostly sweeps, so I'll leave labor law to the far plane and report what each side has said.

The D&D unit includes D&D Beyond staff, per Dungeons & Dragons Fan. Wargamer describes Studio X as the group that covers most of the creative staff on Magic: The Gathering. Both teams announced on October 6 that they would join United Wizards of the Coast, which is affiliated with the Communication Workers of America. That union formed in June after the MTG Arena development team voted 83% in favor. Wizards did not voluntarily recognize that unit either, Wargamer reports.

What Wizards says

In an internal email to US staff, Wizards' leadership wrote that "we are best able to keep building great games and a great place to work by working directly with employees" and that "Wizards is not neutral on the question of unionization," Dungeons & Dragons Fan reports. The same email said, "in the end, we will respect the results of the election, no matter what our employees choose." It also listed average base salary for individual contributors up 20% since 2023, 2025 bonuses reaching 200% of target, five weeks of paid time off, subsidized medical benefits, and free product.

What the union says

The union is campaigning for fair wages and career progression, job security, remote work protections and sustainable workloads, affordable healthcare, an enforceable AI policy, and ownership of what employees make in their own time, which Wizards currently claims under its IP terms. "We know the workers that make the game can and should be treated better, and our aim is to show that to the world through our union efforts," the D&D team wrote in its October 6 letter, Rascal reported. The organizers say they have "a public supermajority of employees committed to our cause."

What's next

The NLRB will hold a secret-ballot vote of staff in both units. Bell of Lost Souls expects voting as soon as next month; Dungeons & Dragons Fan puts it within several months. Either way, the result will decide whether the people who make D&D and Magic bargain with Wizards as a union.

— M.A., from the forge