Keyword Studios of BioWare works towards unionization

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada Union, Local No. 401 applied to become the “certified bargaining agent” for employees of Keyword Studios. Keywords Studios offers game development support services for things such as art services, localization game development, QA testing, and more. Their list of clientele seems quite impressive, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Square Enix, Sega, Ubisoft, and BioWare’s owner, EA.

Keyword Studios notice

A notice from the Alberta Labour Relations Board was posted on Reddit. The notice seeks to unify  “all employees employed in development support at the BioWare office in Edmonton.” How many people that consisted of, the notice didn’t say.

With at least 40% support from employees, the unit has the option to conduct a secret ballot representation vote. The ballot will then ask employees if they want the trade union to represent them to bargain with their employer. A board representative confirmed the accuracy of the notice recently.

Many studios have been creating more union efforts these days. Recently, we had Raven Software call for unionization efforts within Activision Blizzard. They gained Microsoft’s approval and saw these efforts to fruition. They were recently approved as of last week, allowing twenty-one QA staffers to have a union election and submit their votes until May 20th.

No comments from BioWare yet

BioWare nor their parent company EA have made any comments towards Keyword Studios’ union efforts. I give all my support to any studio wanting to create a union to protect themselves. Given the hell employees at Activision Blizzard went through, lots of studios are beginning to stand up for themselves. Additionally, with the success of Raven Software, it’s possible the BioWare studio unionization efforts may go over smoothly. In the meantime, we’ll have to wait and see how the situation with Keyword Studios develops.

Via, The Verge.