Exclusive: Laid-off Keywords union members set to strike outside of BioWare Edmonton

gamedeveloper.com:

Former employees of Keywords Studios who unionized under the banner of Keywords Edmonton United are planning to strike outside of BioWare's Edmonton headquarters on November 7, beginning around 11AM to 12PM local time. The striking union members—who had previously been working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf before BioWare ended its contract with their employer—are protesting what they describe as an unfair termination by Keywords that they say was motivated by their unionization efforts.

The union is continuing to contest the workers' terminations and argue that they be re-instated as Keywords employees who can be contracted to work with other Canadian clients.

News of Keywords Edmonton United's strike comes with an additional twist: according to the union, Electronic Arts and BioWare appealed to the Alberta Labour Relations Board to block picketing from taking place outside EA's offices.

The corporation behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises argued that this strike was a dispute between the laid-off workers and Keywords, and that they were not legally entitled to protest outside of BioWare because they had been a remote workforce.

The Board has since ruled in the union's favor, and the former Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA testers are set to strike as planned. An EA spokesperson told Game Developer that the company still holds that BioWare's Epcor Tower headquarters "has never been a place of employment for Keywords employees," and stated any activity targeting the building was "misguided."

"We hope that Keywords and the union are able to resolve their differences but ultimately Bioware has no role in that process," they stated.

Union spokesperson James Russwurm praised the Board's decision, calling it a win for all remote