A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme RoyThe Edmonton workers at Irish company Keywords Studios, who are represented by UFCW Canada Local 401, made history in summer 2022 by becoming the first video game industry union in Canada.
The team had been working on quality assurance and testing for Edmonton-based developer BioWare, which is owned by American video game giant Electronic Arts. The president of UFCW Canada Local 401 says in a statement that the strike “is about holding the company to account rather than allowing them to abandon the collective bargaining process.”
Godoy said at the time of the layoffs that Keywords Studios should have explored ways to pivot the team to other projects rather than issue layoff notices as they worked toward a collective agreement.Keywords Studios said in June 2022 following the vote to unionize that it accepted the vote.