All posts tagged: ratify

Motion Capture Workers at 2K Studio Ratify First Union Contract

Motion Capture Workers at 2K Studio Ratify First Union Contract

Published by Daniella Wilson

Motion capture workers employed by the video game company behind NBA 2K and WWE 2K have ratified their first labor contract in a move that union IATSE is calling historic. Workers at 2K’s motion capture studio in Petaluma, CA have unanimously ratified a deal with management at parent company Take-Two Interactive, IATSE announced on Tuesday. The crew union represents stage technicians, engineers, animators and recording and audio specialists at the studio. The new deal establishes wage minimums as well as annual wage increases and bonuses. The contract additionally enshrines work-from-home and leave policies, staffing and subcontracting language and “an enforceable promotions framework,” IATSE stated. The contract also creates guardrails for the use of scanned likeness and artificial intelligence. IATSE international president Matthew Loeb said in a statement that the deal “shows what workers can achieve when they stand together and bargain for the future of their craft.” Loeb added, “These workers made history when they organized, and they have made history again by ratifying the first union contract for motion capture video game workers in …

EU Commission considers enacting the EU-Mercosur trade deal before MEPs ratify it

EU Commission considers enacting the EU-Mercosur trade deal before MEPs ratify it

Published by Sam Flores

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 9, 2026. MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS The trade agreement between the European Union and the four founding countries of the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur), Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, has not yet been finalized. However, more than 26 years after the negotiations began, the deal reached a crucial milestone on Friday, January 9. A qualified majority of the 27 EU member states approved the agreement that the European Commission, acting on their behalf, and the South American countries had reached in December 2024. A “historic trade deal,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. France, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ireland opposed the deal, while Belgium abstained from the vote. The meeting of EU ambassadors, which confirmed the presence of a relative majority of support for the free trade agreement, thus concluded with a massive “yes” to the deal. With this mandate to sign the agreement, von der Leyen is now expected to soon travel to Paraguay, likely on Monday, January 12, …