Canadian Contractors For BioWare Vote Unanimously For Unionization
On Monday, Alberta's labor board members counted the votes of sixteen employees at Keywords Studios, responsible for QA for multiple AAA studios, including BioWare and Blizzard, in an attempt to unionize. Citing several grievances, chief among them rising costs to commute and a return to office order issued by the company, employees in the studio's QA department had finally had enough. All of the sixteen workers in the department voted unanimously in favor of the union. Unionization has been on the rise in North America since 2020. The most famous examples have been the rise in unionization at Starbucks stores and a massive union victory for Amazon workers at a fulfillment center in New York.
With the rising cost of living, employees scared to return to work for fear of COVID, and a high rate of burnout across several industries, it should be no surprise that workers are again turning to the power of collective bargaining. After all, were it not for the union, workers of the world would be working far more than a 40-hour work week with far fewer protections in place. During the unionization effort at Keywords Studios, employees of the QA department voiced these concerns, including their not having any paid time off from work. One worker and organizer who only gave Polygon his first name, James, said, "We're ecstatic... We're super happy. It will assist us going forward into bargaining that the whole team is completely united in this effort." Surprisingly the workers also added how they enjoyed the flexibility of the work-from-home model.
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The employees are organized under the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local 401. They filed the paperwork with the Alberta Board of Labor back in April and underwent all of the standard procedures Canada requires for their unions culminating in the vote that was just certified. The unionized employees will have to sit down with Keywords Studio Alberta to begin negotiations regarding their grievances with the studio. The largest issues for the employees appear to be the rate of pay for their positions, no paid vacation, and they want the option to continue work-from-home. These are all reasonable requests, given the current climate in offices the world over. The "Great Resignation" is a sign of changing tides in the struggle between the employer and the employee; workers are tired of low wages and high burnout.
Some employees, however, are instead forming unions. While the rate of unionization is higher in most workplaces outside of the US, there is no denying that organized labor is back on the rise. Often people in the industry who have unionized make themselves available to help other workplaces through the process. Such was the case at Keywords Studio. When workers started talking about organizing back in March, some of them reached out to recently unionized members of Raven Software, Who unionized two weeks ago with a 19-3 vote. The Raven Software employees were more than happy to share knowledge about the experience and tactics an employer might use to dissuade employees from joining the union.
These unions winning elections is a huge step forward in efforts by employees in the video game industry to combat shady studio practices like "crunch" the final months and weeks leading up to a title's release, which can include unpaid overtime and long hours. The abusive practices have even been alleged to include 100-hour work weeks and high stress coupled with the already low pay across the industry. With those conditions, a need for employee organization is clear, and this latest step forward attempts to rectify labor issues in the industry. James's final quote to Polygon should be a clear message to workers in the video game industry and several other industries. He said, "We've got a better chance of getting some better working conditions together."
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Source(s): Polygon