United Paizo Workers Wins Diana Jones Trophy for Excellence in Gaming
United Paizo Workers, a group of people who work on Paizo tabletop games such as Boy Scout And Star Finderwere named winners of the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming ahead of Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday night. The group of union members, who were among the first to unionize in tabletop or digital gaming, accepted the award during a ceremony that is being considered “the unofficial start of the Gen Con Indy conventionaccording to the Diana Jones Award website.
The Diana Jones Award has been presented annually since 2001, a prize that can be awarded for almost anything: a “person, product, company, event, movement, concept or other thing that, in the opinion of the committee, has best demonstrated the quality of ‘excellence’ in the world of hobby gaming during the past year,” according to the website. The first winner, for example, was Wizards of the Coast founder Peter Adkison, while last year’s award went to Coyote and crow, a role-playing game that proposes ‘an alternate universe that exists outside the horrors of capitalism’,” designed by Cherokee designer Connor Alexander.
This year’s finalists were inspiring and impressive: Adepticon, the fan-driven miniature gaming convention in the Midwest that is also home to the North American Golden Demons; Friend Baiogame designer of Pink Tiger Games; Fastavalan RPG and board game conference held in Denmark; TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida, an itch.io bundle who raised $283,977 for transgender advocacy and support groups in Florida; and of course the United Paizo Workers, the first union for board game workers.
“Being recognized among such industry luminaries is a testament to the power and importance of worker solidarity in this industry,” Alex Speidel, United Paizo Workers steward and Paizo organized gaming coordinator, told Polygon in June when the finalists were announced. “We hope this nomination shows others in the industry that standing up for yourself and taking collective action in the workplace is not only possible, but that doing so is also a sign of honor among your peers.”
United Paizo Workers announced their intention to unionize in October 2021, but an effort to organize had been underway for some time. The union cited “a pattern of inconsistent hiring practices, unequal pay across the company, allegations of verbal abuse by supervisors and management, and allegations of harassment that were ignored or covered up by senior management” as part of its motivation to unionize. The company opted to voluntarily recognize the union less than a week after the workers’ announcement. United Paizo Workers were among the first board game and digital game companies to join forces with employees to unionize Cards Against Humanity. Since then, the union movement in sports has continued to grow, with many citing the United Paizo Workers as an inspiration.
But it was not an easy road to a negotiated agreement; it took 601 days to ratify a contract between Paizo and United Paizo Workers.