Image: Electronic Arts
This morning, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf quality assurance testers voted unanimously to form Canada’s first video game syndicate. They filed the motion on April 20 and the election ended 16-0 in favor of unionization. This came after the developers put together an organized campaign focused on bad pay and a worrying mandate to return to the office.
Testers are hired through the contracting company Keywords Studios, which has more than 40 offices worldwide. These employees work in the Edmonton office, where they have provided support for BioWare games such as Mass Effect Legendary Edition and the expansion of Star Wars: The Old Republic Legacy of the Sith. They are currently providing quality assurance testing for the newly unveiled Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
The union campaign began after Keywords Studios announced that testers should return to the BioWare office starting May 9th. Testers do not receive paid sick time, despite Alberta’s 14-day quarantine requirement. The testers also wanted to raise the salary from the base by about $ 13 per hour. Keywords Studios finally terminated the mandate to return to the office, but workers told Kotaku today that raising the salary and preventing mandatory return to the office are still some of the main concerns they will be negotiating about.
According to an email sent by QA testers at noon, the union will begin negotiations with the heads of Keywords Studios this week.
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“We are excited to enter into negotiations with the employer and start towards a more equitable employment situation,” they wrote. “We would like to thank the brave workers of North America who are fighting for a better job. We are here in solidarity with you.”
The success of the organizing vote follows the recent victory of the QA syndication at Raven Software, which works on the Call of Duty games. Quality Assurance Verifiers can now negotiate with Activision Blizzard for better pay and working conditions. And after Microsoft announced that it would voluntarily recognize new unions, it seems likely that the gaming movement will continue to gain momentum.
According to the Keywords Studios website, “Keywords Studios accepts the vote of the 16 Edmonton employees who have chosen to unionize.”
A spokesman said the studio did not want to comment further.