Paizo Paizo Freelancers Support Union

Jason Tondro, senior developer for Pathfinder and Starfinder, has indicated that a large swathe of Paizo freelancers have stopped work in support of the recently formed union by Paizo employees.

Initially the freelance group had a range of demands, but in light of the new union, they have put forward one single new demand instead: to recognize the union.

Paizo - Paizo Workers Unionize

The workers at Paizo, publisher of Pathfinder and Starfinder, have formed the United Paizo Workers union (UPW). The new union speaks of its love for the company, but cites a number of underlying issues including underpay, crunch conditions, and the recent allegations regarding the work...

www.enworld.org

Today I want to shine a spotlight on UPW’s secret weapon: freelancers. Paizo’s freelancers are our ally in this fight and we’re helping each other. Here’s how:

Paizo’s business model is built on freelancers. Very few of the words in our publications are written in-house by full time employees on the clock. Instead, we outline projects, hire freelancers to execute those outlines, and develop and edit those manuscripts.

This allows a relatively small number of people (about 35, including art directors, editors, designers, developers, and more) to produce, well, everything. Have you seen our publication schedule lately? It’s LONG. And Paizo must publish new books to pay its bills.

Well, about a month ago, about 40 of Paizo’s most reliable, prolific, and skilled freelancers simply stopped working. In official parlance, this is called “concerted action.” In layman’s terms, it’s a strike without a union.

Some of these freelancers were in the middle of projects, with upcoming deadlines. Some of them had completed manuscripts they refused to turn over. Some were people we need to hire, to get scheduled books underway in time to publish. All of that FROZE.

Folks, Paizo can’t operate in that environment. We can’t just assign 10,000 word Org Play scenarios, 35,000 word SF adventures, 50,000 word P2 adventures to new, untested freelancers. And for many projects, it’s too late in the schedule to do that anyway.

Now, this group of freelancers had a specific list of demands. They wanted Paizo to hire a diversity officer, for example, and investigate recent terminations. But yesterday, they updated their demands: they’ll all come back to work if Paizo recognizes United Paizo Workers.

This is an enormous lever, and we at UPW are incredibly grateful to have it. Paizo can’t make its publication schedule without freelancers, and it can’t pay exec salaries without publications. But if they recognize our union, freelancers come back to work TOMORROW.

Sure, yes, contract negotiations will be long and trying for all involved. But Paizo will still get books out the door, it’ll be able to make its commitments and pay its bills and salaries. And during contract negotiation, we, the people who hire freelancers, can pay back.

In contract negotiation, we can fight for better pay rates for freelancers. We can get more time in the schedule, so writers have time to do their job right. We can get playtesting built into these schedules, which not only helps freelancers but creates better books.

Paizo’s freelancers and United Paizo Workers are working hand in hand. And I am so grateful, honored, and humbled to have that partnership.

 

[Sunsword]

I applaud what the workers are doing but I wonder what kind of financial shape Paizo is in? In my market, PF2 has no one buying books from me and Starfinder is a shell of what it was. I'm really surprised they haven't converted older Adventure Paths to 5E. I hope it works out as an improvement for everyone.

 

[pauldanieljohnson]

I'm going to write my opinion, dissenting from the majority here. I've had the opportunity to work closely with unions, and without exception I've found them to be duplicitous and self-serving, working to perpetuate themselves but rarely truly working for the benefit of their members.

I've read the complaints of Paizo's employees, and although they're vague, they include "managerial improprieties", "pay inequity", "inconsistent hiring practices", and so forth. If these allegations are true and are pervasive enough to be a concern, then legal recourse already exists. Human rights, workers' rights, anti-discrimination laws, and myriad other protections already exist and are certainly not reserved to unionized workers. But it's possible the allegations might not have merit anyway. Perhaps the pay inequities are justified by length of service or quality of work. Perhaps the "inconsistent hiring practices" are a product of someone's limited perspective and not indicative of reality. I don't know - I'm just suggesting that we've only heard one side's position and we don't know the extent to which any of this is real.

But once you unionize, you embrace a lowest-common-denominator environment. Unions function by ensuring everyone is treated the same, so there's no incentive to work hard or produce better quality work, because management won't be allowed to reward you for it. (I recognize some people are inherently motivated - I'm just pointing out that tangible rewards for excellence disappear under a CBA). In fact, working for a union you'll quickly find that not "working to rule" - that is, not doing only the bare minimum per your contract - is actively discouraged. The union will be more than happy to deduct their dues from your paycheque, while telling you all the benefits they're getting for you, when in reality they get you nothing that isn't already enshrined in labour laws anyway.

I'm sure we've all heard the slogan "if you enjoy your weekend, thank a union", but 40-hour work weeks have been guaranteed by law for more than 80 years. What's a union done lately? This is just one person's perspective, but for decades I've watched unions deceive and manipulate their members in ways that make me physically ill, and for decades I've watched them enforce mediocrity among employees and acrimony between employees and management solely to ensure unions' continuance in a world that has long since lost the need for them.

 

[Justice and Rule]

I've read the complaints of Paizo's employees, and although they're vague, they include "managerial improprieties", "pay inequity", "inconsistent hiring practices", and so forth. If these allegations are true and are pervasive enough to be a concern, then legal recourse already exists. Human rights, workers' rights, anti-discrimination laws, and myriad other protections already exist and are certainly not reserved to unionized workers. But it's possible the allegations might not have merit anyway. Perhaps the pay inequities are justified by length of service or quality of work. Perhaps the "inconsistent hiring practices" are a product of someone's limited perspective and not indicative of reality. I don't know - I'm just suggesting that we've only heard one side's position and we don't know the extent to which any of this is real.

If they want to dispute these charges, they've had a month. There have been multiple confirming accounts by former workers, the freelancers have gone basically on strike because of it and now the current workers pointing to these problems as reasons why they need to form a union in the first place. If Paizo wanted to substantively dispute these things, they've had long enough. They have not. Acting like we have yet to hear from the other side ignores that the other side has had the ability to speak on the topic if they so wished.

But once you unionize, you embrace a lowest-common-denominator environment. Unions function by ensuring everyone is treated the same, so there's no incentive to work hard or produce better quality work, because management won't be allowed to reward you for it. (I recognize some people are inherently motivated - I'm just pointing out that tangible rewards for excellence disappear under a CBA). In fact, working for a union you'll quickly find that not "working to rule" - that is, not doing only the bare minimum per your contract - is actively discouraged. The union will be more than happy to deduct their dues from your paycheque, while telling you all the benefits they're getting for you, when in reality they get you nothing that isn't already enshrined in labour laws anyway.

I'm sorry, but "tangible rewards for excellence disappear under a CBA" is just BS. Rather, it's a shield from having your excellence exploited by your employer. I mean, saying "you get nothing that isn't already enshrined in labour laws" misses that employers can totally get around such laws, and through collective action employees can keep them honest. This is literally why we are here in this situation with Paizo right now. If not for this action, what reason would Paizo have to change anything?

I'm sure we've all heard the slogan "if you enjoy your weekend, thank a union", but 40-hour work weeks have been guaranteed by law for more than 80 years. What's a union done lately?

Continue to fight for better pay, benefits, and hours? The better question to ask is why have all these things have begun to wane with the decline of unions? Simple: as labor becomes more divided, it's easier for management to exploit them. The less united workers are, the easier it is for bosses to offer less for more.

 

[GreyLord]

I'm going to write my opinion, dissenting from the majority here. I've had the opportunity to work closely with unions, and without exception I've found them to be duplicitous and self-serving, working to perpetuate themselves but rarely truly working for the benefit of their members.

I've read the complaints of Paizo's employees, and although they're vague, they include "managerial improprieties", "pay inequity", "inconsistent hiring practices", and so forth. If these allegations are true and are pervasive enough to be a concern, then legal recourse already exists. Human rights, workers' rights, anti-discrimination laws, and myriad other protections already exist and are certainly not reserved to unionized workers. But it's possible the allegations might not have merit anyway. Perhaps the pay inequities are justified by length of service or quality of work. Perhaps the "inconsistent hiring practices" are a product of someone's limited perspective and not indicative of reality. I don't know - I'm just suggesting that we've only heard one side's position and we don't know the extent to which any of this is real.

But once you unionize, you embrace a lowest-common-denominator environment. Unions function by ensuring everyone is treated the same, so there's no incentive to work hard or produce better quality work, because management won't be allowed to reward you for it. (I recognize some people are inherently motivated - I'm just pointing out that tangible rewards for excellence disappear under a CBA). In fact, working for a union you'll quickly find that not "working to rule" - that is, not doing only the bare minimum per your contract - is actively discouraged. The union will be more than happy to deduct their dues from your paycheque, while telling you all the benefits they're getting for you, when in reality they get you nothing that isn't already enshrined in labour laws anyway.

I'm sure we've all heard the slogan "if you enjoy your weekend, thank a union", but 40-hour work weeks have been guaranteed by law for more than 80 years. What's a union done lately? This is just one person's perspective, but for decades I've watched unions deceive and manipulate their members in ways that make me physically ill, and for decades I've watched them enforce mediocrity among employees and acrimony between employees and management solely to ensure unions' continuance in a world that has long since lost the need for them.

WELL...

In Europe, where Unions and collective bargaining were continued to be supported rather than the US where they were torn down...

Germany has a great economic system going currently.

People in many areas get 30 days of GUARANTEED vacation

Maternity leave is guaranteed, most places being at least 30 days, many having it up to a year.

Free Medical care.

Hmm...seems unions are working in Europe and politics is helping people out quite a bit.

You don't have these things in the US? Perhaps it's because the US got rid of things that fight for the rights of workers and citizens.

Blaming the corruption that some of the Unions in the US have (and even Europe has that type of corruption in some of them, but that doesn't undo the good that the Unions and collective bargaining do overall) to try to say Unions are bad really don't hold that much water when you see the differences between how workers and citizens are treated in nations with strong unions and collective bargaining in Europe vs. how they are treated in the US.

 

[pming]

Well, if we're gonna start by assuming bad faith, the discussion will no go much further...

As I said...
"Hope for the best, plan for the worst".

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Aldarc]

WELL...

In Europe, where Unions and collective bargaining were continued to be supported rather than the US where they were torn down...

Germany has a great economic system going currently.

People in many areas get 30 days of GUARANTEED vacation

Maternity leave is guaranteed, most places being at least 30 days, many having it up to a year.

Free Medical care.

Hmm...seems unions are working in Europe and politics is helping people out quite a bit.

You don't have these things in the US? Perhaps it's because the US got rid of things that fight for the rights of workers and citizens.

Blaming the corruption that some of the Unions in the US have (and even Europe has that type of corruption in some of them, but that doesn't undo the good that the Unions and collective bargaining do overall) to try to say Unions are bad really don't hold that much water when you see the differences between how workers and citizens are treated in nations with strong unions and collective bargaining in Europe vs. how they are treated in the US.

It was culture shock as an American when I moved to Austria, which is not Germany. I had 30 days vacation time, but I was treating it as if it was (1) 2 weeks time, and (2) conserving them in case I got sick. Then I discovered that my vacation days weren't used up by sick days, and my employer was even telling me to take a vacation. And yeah, after six years, the comparatively cheap medical care still culture-shocks me.

 

[pming]

It was culture shock as an American when I moved to Austria, which is not Germany. I had 30 days vacation time, but I was treating it as if it was (1) 2 weeks time, and (2) conserving them in case I got sick. Then I discovered that my vacation days weren't used up by sick days, and my employer was even telling me to take a vacation. And yeah, after six years, the comparatively cheap medical care still culture-shocks me.

Reverse-Culture-Shock here. Sort of.

My brother works in the US (I am an Americanadian...or Canadamerican...take your pick and I live in Canada...since '79). When he told me how much money he and his wife make...wow! You're RICH! Then he told me about Health Insurance and his "hours of work" and "when he works". Nope. Not worth it. Not even close. Sure I paid roughly 40% of my paycheck to the Canadian Government, but I had no issues with it because I knew people, my parents included, who needed to stop work for a while. Nothing in their lives really got disrupted...they didn't loose the house, didn't loose the car, could still feed themselves and go out every now and then for dinner or whatever. All on about 60% of what they were making because of guaranteed Unemployment Insurance for up to...10 months I think it is? Maybe it was 8...can't remember. All the medical tests expenses, flights to see specialists in other cities...all free...including food and hotel stays. So yeah... 40% is a pittance for peace of mind knowing that you won't be tossed on the street to slowly die from, well, everything, the second you loose your job or get seriously ill. Don't get me started on how much it costs to have a child in the US. O_O

My daughter was BARELY premature...so the doc decided better safe than sorry, so my wife and I flew down to Vancouver (I'm in Whitehorse; 2200km away; 1600 miles? Ish?) and we stayed there or a month. Cost us nothing other than me for flying back to start work again and get stuff ready for the baby and mommy to come home. The airline gave me about 50% off the ticket because it falls under "Medical and Bereavement", not sure if that's a thing in the US.

So yeah..."I only worked 60 hours this week and only pay $900/month for Health Insurance!"...to me sounds like "My master only ripped out 2 finger nails this week, AND I got to eat the dogs leftovers! No starving for me this week! Yay!"

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[TheSword]

Yes, but while you include a picture of that from the article, you (for some reason) left out that they couldn't comment on how big the team that worked on D&D was. It's been several years, but if I remember correctly the team on D&D is actually quite small and most of the staff is dedicated towards Magic.

They don't because most of it is restricted to what already happened last year with Orion Black, where he described an environment where people were actively gaslighting him and stealing his work. A lot of what he described is really just as bad. Also follow the link to the person commenting on Magic, as it also describes how harsh Wizards is on dissent with social media.

If that's true (and given how corporate brand management works in the US, I don't see why it wouldn't be), you probably have people who are way less willing to speak out because they'd be blacklisted by the biggest company on the block. It's the sort of thing that makes it hard to give specifics because those sorts of things can be traced back to certain people. With Paizo, it's still something but at the same time they don't have a big corporate umbrella to protect them from concerted effort.

I specifically stated in the preceding text that they are shared across Magic and D&D. Paizo’s issues were a failure of senior leadership and management. Magic and D&D [Edited] is one company, why do you think cleanliness of offices, lack of policy for dealing with policy and harassment would be different between the same company?

A lot of what has been leveled at WOC is based on a Twitter conjecture. “WOC must be racist because they didn’t hire me” and other similar claims. I’m not going to get into every point because we’ve been there already and I’m not saying that there might not be racist people working within WOC. I’m just saying that disputing the decisions about what a banned player could or couldn’t participate in Is not on the same as telling an employee who suffered harassment at work, that it was your own fault and that the customers are there to have a good time.

Feeling that your manager didn’t give you credit for an idea you felt you had created is not the same as having a less favorable contract for people of different genders.

Im not saying WOC is perfect. Let’s be honest though, I doubt the writers would go easy on WOC if they had evidence. They properly go to town on Paizo, but the worst they say about WOC is that Orion felt like a token hire and didn’t feel he was given enough work to do. It’s just not on the same level as the very specific accusations leveled at Paizo.

Forgive me, if the weight of your condemnation of WOC boils down to ‘there’s probably really nasty stuff happening at WOC but people are too scared to tell us about it.” That doesn’t really cut the mustard.

 

[Bolares]

It was culture shock as an American when I moved to Austria, which is not Germany. I had 30 days vacation time, but I was treating it as if it was (1) 2 weeks time, and (2) conserving them in case I got sick. Then I discovered that my vacation days weren't used up by sick days, and my employer was even telling me to take a vacation. And yeah, after six years, the comparatively cheap medical care still culture-shocks me.

Yeah, in Brazil we get garanteed 30 day vacations a year. Sick days are not discounted if you present a ketter from your doctor excusing you from work, and if you need to be excused from work because of an accident or disease for more than 15 days the government pays your salary for that time. Woman get 5 months maternity leave and one year of job security (can’t be layed off) ofter having a baby… This are all basic rights every worker gets

 

[pauldanieljohnson]

If they want to dispute these charges, they've had a month. There have been multiple confirming accounts by former workers, the freelancers have gone basically on strike because of it and now the current workers pointing to these problems as reasons why they need to form a union in the first place. If Paizo wanted to substantively dispute these things, they've had long enough. They have not. Acting like we have yet to hear from the other side ignores that the other side has had the ability to speak on the topic if they so wished.



I'm sorry, but "tangible rewards for excellence disappear under a CBA" is just BS. Rather, it's a shield from having your excellence exploited by your employer. I mean, saying "you get nothing that isn't already enshrined in labour laws" misses that employers can totally get around such laws, and through collective action employees can keep them honest. This is literally why we are here in this situation with Paizo right now. If not for this action, what reason would Paizo have to change anything?



Continue to fight for better pay, benefits, and hours? The better question to ask is why have all these things have begun to wane with the decline of unions? Simple: as labor becomes more divided, it's easier for management to exploit them. The less united workers are, the easier it is for bosses to offer less for more.

Agree to disagree? When answering accusations of this nature, a month is nothing. We aren't talking about a casual conversation here: We're talking about defending an incorporated company against charges with significant legal implications. It's a certainty that Paizo is seeking specialized representation and it will take some time before their position is presented, and when it is it might not be made public.

And I'll double-down on my comment about unions enforcing mediocrity. I've seen it a thousand times. Try it yourself. Join a union and work harder than the other union members around you; try to get ahead by distinguishing yourself and going the extra mile. Watch how long it takes before it's made abundantly clear to you that your efforts aren't welcome and that your CBA forbids management from rewarding you above other workers.

If these accusations had merit, why has there been no human rights complaint? If there has, someone can correct me, but I'm not aware of anything. In my experience, legitimate complaints can be addressed effectively through existing legal and legislative channels. Choosing to unionize is a banal recourse that hamstrings the company and ultimately costs the employees much more than it gains them.