First Game Developer Union - Fired

[Shillitron]

https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/10/0 ... on-bioware

Outsourcing and tech services provider Keywords Studios has laid off a group of Canadian testers working on BioWare games. These were the same employees who unionized last year. Keywords Studios told Polygon that 13 employees were laid off on September 27. The main reason is that BioWare declined to continue its contract in August.

Chain of Events

> Last year QA testers rallied together "Strength in Unity! DEMAND EQUAL PAY AND TREATMENT!" to form the "first Canadian game dev union"

In June 2022, 16 QA testers at Keywords Edmonton voted unanimously to form a union, becoming the first group of video game industry workers to unionize in Canada. “We will continue to have an ongoing dialogue with all individuals in the Edmonton team, as we move forward together, always learning and improving,” the company said at the time.

(Josh Sawyer likely praised them on twitter as heroes revolutionizing the game industry - but I'm too lazy to check)

> They were working for a subcontracting service named Keywords Studio (glorified head hunting service that puts asses in seats, generally ******* with just a pulse)
> Keywords Studio loses their contract with Bioware (likely because Dreadwolf is *** up in development and looks like **** and these assholes are all overpaid and useless)
> Dreadwolf..? More like Deadwolf ACK ACK ACK

> Keywords Studio cuts the entire QA team - AKA terminates their gay little Union to cut costs
> Bare minimum legal severance paid out
> Union has zero leverage it was completely axed - no debate or negotiation they put a bullet in the whole thing
> Now UFCW has filed an employment standards complaint because of ****** severance payout (it won't go anywhere)

According to Russwurm, the studio offered “minimal severance” to those affected by the job cuts. That’s why UFCW has filed an employment standards complaint against Keywords Studios.

I took some creative license in this story filling in missing holes with "probably true" head larp.

[Shillitron]

Editor Note:

16 QA testers were in the Union but 13 were laid off.. that means 3 QA testers said "**** this union I'm keeping my job" ??

[Emphyrio]

To make a union work you have to have leverage. QA testers can't, I imagine.

[Ranselknulf]

For a union to be effective, you need a skill valuable enough to be difficult to substitute or replace (pipe welders or electricians etc), and there to be enough valuable work for said union members to generate enough wealth for the company and the workers.

The problem with modern unions is they are just a cash grab sponsored by the companies themselves. The union members themselves might not realize it, but the leaders of the unions end up giving cash "concessions" from the companies to political causes endorsed by the company. Union members typically don't see much value from the union itself. I've even seen unions file lawsuits because companies were trying to pay the workers MORE because the contracted union wage wasn't high enough to attract workers. ie.. Why work for company A at $40/hr when you can go across the street to company B and make $50/hr.

Government employee unions work effectively the same. The government requires workers to join the union, and then skim money off their paychecks for lobbying and other ********. It's all a scam.

[somerandomdude]

Government employee unions work effectively the same. The government requires workers to join the union, and then skim money of their paychecks for lobbying and other ********. It's all a scam.

It's not just government unions, the same is true for any unions.

[Humbaba]

The union was too small looks like. They unionized in a small outsource studio, not industry wide. Those are the only unions worth a ****, because if you only have a special snowflake union in your crappy office then exactly what happened here is going to happen, they'll just hire some other non-union place.

The problem with modern unions is they are just a cash grab sponsored by the companies themselves. The union members themselves might not realize it, but the leaders of the unions end up giving cash "concessions" from the companies to political causes endorsed by the company. Union members typically don't see much value from the union itself. I've even seen unions file lawsuits because companies were trying to pay the workers MORE because the contracted union wage wasn't high enough to attract workers. ie.. Why work for company A at $40/hr when you can go across the street to company B and make $50/hr.

Highly country specific, Germoney has good unions (thanks Hitler), that's why the rail is always on strike.



-Humbaba

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Unionization won't happen. There are far too many kids who grow up playing videogames and think they want to make them and are willing to be overworked and paid little.

AAA game publishers aren't too worried about how buggy their games are. We see that year after year, a AAA game launches and it is terrible, but people buy it anyway:

• Mass Effect 3

• Bioshock Infinite

• No Man's Sky

• Halo Master Chief Collection

• Assassin's Creed Unity

• Fallout 4

• Final Fantasy XV

• nu Star Wars Battlefront

• Fallout 76

• Mass Effect Andromeda

• Death Stranding

• Anthem

• Pokemon Sword & Shield

• Cyberpunk 2077

• etc

You'd think people would have learned a lesson, to do their research and find out if a game is polished and in working order before plopping their money down for it. But no, they do not. They continue to see something shiny in an ad or on the Steam store and then buy it just like that. The games industry has learned that they can release broken games and patch it later and still make money and use their customers as unpaid testers reporting bugs, so they will do just that.

[rusty_shackleford]

Unionization won't happen. There are far too many poor third worlders willing to work for pennies a day

ftfy

[gerey]

CDPR workers have apparently unionized, so if we are to assume these are the most ******** and deluded leftists in the workforce, and they get fired, maybe there is hope for CDPR after all.

[aweigh]

all i know about unions is that leftists love them, therefore I am against unions.

[Acrux]

What? You're about a decade behind. Progressives are now pro-corporation and all right-thinking reactionaries are pro-union.

[rusty_shackleford]

behead all unionists

[Shillitron]

I already hate capitulating to my government.. if I had to serve ANOTHER governing body that puts demands on my freedom and robs my income.. I'd lose it.

[just]

i was in an union once
we got christmas presents and cheaper company trips for few bucks a month
would join again