MTG Arena Union Vote Set for 2 June After Wizards Declines

The Magic: The Gathering Arena team's union drive now has a date. The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled a formal election for the United Wizards of the Coast - CWA bargaining unit on 2 June 2026, with ballots counted on 23 June at the NLRB's Seattle regional office. The election follows a 1 May voluntary recognition deadline that Wizards of the Coast allowed to pass without engaging.

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Eligible voters cover full-time and regular part-time animators, artists, game designers, software engineers, product managers, technology producers and QA analysts working out of the Renton, Washington studio. Staff within 30 miles of the office cast ballots in person, while remote workers vote by mail.

Wizards has retained Fisher Phillips LLP, a labour and employment firm best known for management-side work, to handle the process. The union, formed earlier this year under the Communications Workers of America banner, has pointed to layoffs, AI policy and remote-work changes as triggers for the campaign. If the bargaining unit clears 50% plus one of votes cast, Wizards will be required to bargain over wages, hours and working conditions.

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For Magic and Dungeons and Dragons players this changes nothing about the games landing on shelves, including the upcoming Marvel Super Heroes set on 26 June. It does mark the first formal NLRB-supervised vote at the publisher behind two of the biggest games in the hobby. A union win sets a precedent for other tabletop and video game studios that have launched their own organising drives in the past 18 months. A loss likely puts a fresh attempt on hold for at least a year.

Ballots get tallied at 4pm Eastern on 23 June. Worth keeping an eye on regardless of which side of the table you sit.

Sources: Star City Games | CWA Union | The Cardboard Chronicles