United Workers of Seven Seas Becomes First North American Manga Publisher to Unionize
Publisher chooses to recognize union on the day ballots were to be sent for election, citing "the well-being and safety of our employees"
On Friday, June 24th, the United Works of Seven Seas Twitter page announced that manga and light novel publisher Seven Seas Entertainment has agreed to voluntarily recognize the union and engage in collective bargaining. This announcement makes the United Works of Seven Seas (UW7S) the first unionized manga and light novel publisher in North America.
The announcement read:
UW7S is happy to announce that Seven Seas has agreed to voluntarily recognize us as the union based on a majority card check. This decision by Seven Seas eliminates the need for an NLRB-conducted election and will pave the way for a more expedited path to bargaining a first contract. At a time when many employers continue to fight the unionization of their employees, we appreciate that Seven Seas decided to respect the voices of the majority of staff and recognize us. We look forward to developing a mutually beneficial relationship and reaching a collective bargaining agreement in the near future.
On Saturday, Seven Seas posted the following statement to Twitter:
At the end of May, Seven Seas was notified that a union had filed an election petition to represent our employees. At the time, the company decided to proceed to an election governed by the National Relations Labor Board in order to allow such an important decision to get its full democratic process. the company is responsible for protecting the rights of all employees, and was uncomfortable waiving such a fundamental right to vote.
However, this has been a challenging time for staff at every level. Above all, the well-being and safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us. In order to protect everyone involved, and to work together in good faith for the sake of our staff, creators, partners and fans, Seven Seas has now decided to waive the right to an election in favor of voluntary recognition of the union.
We look forward to working together with the newly unionized UW7S and the rest of our global staff as we sail towards an even brighter future.
UW7S first publicly announced on May 23rd that the employees of Seven Seas had formed a union and were working alongside the Communications Workers of America. The announcement explained the need for the union citing that although Seven Seas has grown exponentially in recent years, going from 10 employees in 2018 to over 40 today, the workers were overworked, underpaid, and inadequately supported. At the time Seven Seas agreed to recognize the union, 28 of the 36 employees within the bargaining unit had publicly pledged support for the union.
The organization released a list of goals on its website including
Healthcare
Pension benefits
Paid time off
Increased wages and a transparent increase structure
Paid family leave
Reduced workloads and an end to “crunch” schedules
Protections for employees, including an end of at-will employment
The end of unnecessary “permalancing”
for freelancers (translators, letterers, designers, etc.)
An increase to pay for freelances, including revision and “kill” fees
Clearly defined job roles and responsibilities
A transparent wage ladder and organizational structure
New training methods and materials
The creation of a dedicated scheduling department to track progress
Expansion of administration to maintain their database
Paid training for all managers and supervisors
The end of anti-freelance exclusivity contracts for staff
End-of-year bonuses
Reimbursement for remote work equipment costs
Improved communication between departments, including quarterly updates
Increased staff for overburdened departments
The union also called for the creation of anti-harassment and discrimination policies and the establishment of a process for submitting complaints. In a statement, they noted, “Members of the Seven Seas union have not experienced any issues with harassment or discrimination to date. We strive to keep it that way.”
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Friday which ended the constitutional right to an abortion, UW7S released a new demand “that Seven Seas set up a reproductive health travel fund accessible to all employees and US-based freelancers to states where reproductive healthcare remains available.”
The announcement that Seven Seas had voluntarily recognized the union came as a somewhat of a surprise, as the publisher had initially refused to do so, citing a wish to "respect the right of all eligible employees to vote on this issue," and hired a suspected union-busting law firm, Ogletree Deakins, who challenged the size of the bargaining unit under claimed that several members of the bargaining unit were supervisors under §152 of the National Labor Relations Act. The section states that a supervisor is anyone with authority or responsibilities to direct others and, under the same section, makes them ineligible to join the union. UW7S responded by announcing that four of the ten challenged staff members were determined to be ineligible but that the other six still maintained voting rights.
UW7S had planned to vote on a special election with the National Labor Relations Board, which would send out ballots on June 24, the day the union was voluntarily recognized, to be counted on August 1. The union was set to win the election, with 28 of the 36 individuals eligible publicly pledging support which formed a supermajority of nearly 78%. Seven Seas, which has been facing public backlash and pressure on social media including TikTok and Twitter, recognized the union based on a majority card check that showed a majority of workers wanted to authorize the union to represent them in collective bargaining.
Source: United Workers of Seven Seas Twitter, Website