In a move that's becoming increasingly common in the gaming industry, Keywords Studios B.C. Inc. has filed for a union and has just sent a notice to one of the companies it works with, Bioware. United Food and Commercial Works Canada Union, Local No. 401 have filed on Keyword Studios' behalf, which comprises "all employees employed in development support at the Bioware office in Edmonton." The application must meet Board requirements and the union itself must have at least 40% support from employees. To do so, it may conduct a secret representation vote.
If any employees object to the application then the objection must be filed in writing to the Board. Objections must relate to the statutory requirements of the Code, and not opinions on how that particular individual doesn't want to be part of a union. All objections must be filed and received by May 3, 2022, and if there aren't any objections then the Board will move on and make its decision. If there are no objections, then the Board may cancel the hearing.
On their website, Keywords Studios have worked with massive companies such as Konami, Tencent, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sega, Square Enix, Nintendo, and many others. As Keywords Studios B.C. works with Bioware, it should come as no surprise that they've provided QA on the most recent Dragon Age and Mass Effect titles.
In recent months, Raven Software unionized as the Game Workers Alliance, Australia will receive its first gaming union sometime this year, and back in December Vodeo Workers United became North America's first gaming union. With COVID enforcing work from home and workers seizing the opportunity in all industries, it appears that the gaming industry is slowly moving forward as well, with gaming unions becoming increasingly common.
For more information on the latest unionization news in the gaming industry, stay tuned to TechRaptor.
