A group of Amazon workers in Quebec have formed the first union at one of the company's Canadian warehouses. On Friday, the province's labor tribunal granted union accreditation to workers at the DXT4 warehouse in Laval, a Montreal suburb. It determined that a majority had opted to unionize after signing union cards.

A group of some 200 workers are organizing as the Laval Amazon Workers Union under the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents around 330,000 people across a variety of industries in Canada. A general assembly to decide on a constitution, bylaws and representatives will take place in the coming days. A consultation with union members will then take place to agree on a list of demands.

The union says Amazon is legally required to come to the negotiation table to hash out a contract. However, it expects Amazon to appeal the labor tribunal’s decision after allegedly attempting to stop the unionization efforts.

“First and foremost, this is a great victory for the men and women from Latin America, Chad, the Maghreb and Asia who were not afraid to stand up for their rights,” CSN president Caroline Senneville said in a statement. “Over the past few months, Amazon has pulled out all the stops to block our unionization campaign, flooding the workplace with scaremongering messages. DXT4 workers have given us all a lesson in courage. Of course, we hope it spreads.”

Amazon claimed in a letter to the labor tribunal on May 6 that the accreditation would not "respect the interests of its employees." The company argued that some workers signed union cards after being misled and that some aspects of the Quebec labor code run contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"We believe that all people should have the right to inform themselves and to vote according to their situation and convictions at the time," Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait told the CBC. "If a simple majority of people at an employer have joined a union at any point, then there's no vote and representation is automatic for all employees — including maybe dozens or hundreds of employees who didn't even know it was being considered."

Amazon has long been accused of attempting to upend unionization efforts at warehouses in the US and Europe. In 2022, workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, became the first in the company to form a union. But the Amazon Labor Union does not yet have a contract with Amazon, and reports suggest it's running low on funds ahead of a leadership election.

Apple's first unionized Store in Towson, Maryland has now authorized the first strike against the retail giant. That follows what the union called "over a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes," according to a press release from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' retail coalition (IAM CORE). 

The Maryland store located in a Baltimore mall represents around 100 employees and unionized in 2022, becoming the first Apple Store to do so. The vote concluded last weekend and allows workers to walk out at any time, but no date has been set yet. 

While the sides have agreed on principle in 25 areas, other key matters remain unresolved. "The issues at the forefront of this action include concerns over work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices disrupting personal lives and wages failing to align with the area’s cost of living," the union wrote. 

"We deeply value our team members and we’re proud to provide them with industry leading compensation and exceptional benefits. As always, we will engage with the union representing our team in Towson respectfully and in good faith," Apple said in a statement.

The union previously accused Apple of illegally withholding new benefits including healthcare and other perks from workers at the Towson Store. Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Apple violated federal law with anti-union meetings in Atlanta. A New York judge also issued a cease-and-desist order against Apple for abusing employee's rights. 

Apple and IAM CORE will return to the negotiating table on May 21, according to the union. "This vote today is the first step in demonstrating our solidarity and sends a clear message to Apple," the union said in a statement. "As discussions with Apple management continue, we remain committed to securing tangible improvements that benefit all employees." 

Continuing the long American tradition of wealthy corporate overlords making union-busting comments, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy went on a media blitz in 2022 to warn of the workplace-altering terrors of labor unions. (Surely, it’s an unfortunate happenstance that his urgent PSA coincided with an uptick in organizing efforts at Amazon.) Sadly for Mr. Jassy, the US still has a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and CNBC reports that the board ruled Wednesday that his anti-union comments broke federal labor laws.

Jassy popped up on CNBC in April 2022 to say that if employees voted for and joined a union, they would become less empowered and could expect things to become “much slower” and “more bureaucratic.” In an interview with Bloomberg, he added, “If you see something on the line that you think could be better for your team or you or your customers, you can’t just go to your manager and say, ‘Let’s change it.’”

He capped off his union-busting trifecta at The New York Times DealBook conference, where the CEO said that a workplace without unions isn’t “bureaucratic, it’s not slow.”

It’s the latest in Amazon’s long history of union-busting behavior.

Amazon

NLRB Judge Brian Gee said Jassy violated labor laws by suggesting employees would be less empowered or “better off” without a union. However, Gee said the CEO’s other comments about worker-employer relationships changing were lawful. According to the judge, the difference is that the more aggressive quotes “went beyond merely commenting on the employee-employer relationship.”

Gee added that the comments “threatened employees that, if they selected a union, they would become less empowered and find it harder to get things done quickly.” The judge recommends that Amazon “cease and desist” from making similar comments in the future. The company is also required to post and share a note about the judge’s order with all of its US employees.

In December, Jassy’s Amazon shares were valued at $328 million, making him one of America’s wealthiest CEOs.

In a statement to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said the judge’s ruling “reflects poorly on the state of free speech rights today.” Because, hey, what kind of free country do we even have if a retail magnate can’t tell low-income workers scary bedtime stories about the perils of voting to empower themselves in the workplace?

Late last year, over 100 employees of Avalanche Studios, the makers of Just Cause, announced an intent to unionize. The workers have officially ironed out a collective bargaining agreement with the Swedish labor unions Unionen and Engineers of Sweden. The agreement goes into effect during the second quarter of 2025.

While specifics of the agreement remain unknown, Avalanche said that it “will help standardize frameworks around essential areas such as salaries, benefits, employee influence, and career support.” The company says it’s working closely with both unions to ensure a smooth implementation of these frameworks.

Avalanche was founded in Sweden, but has since become a global entity. With this in mind, the move to unionize only impacts workers located in Sweden, which amounts to around 100 people. The company employs more than 500 workers globally.

Despite that caveat, this is still another high-profile move toward improving the rights of workers in the gaming industry. Avalanche joins several other companies that recently organized under collective labor contracts. Sega of America workers overwhelmingly voted to unionize last year, a move that impacted 200 employees. Over 300 ZeniMax Studios quality assurance workers voted to unionize last year, and parent company Microsoft didn’t stand in the way. Activision, another Microsoft company, boasts a union with over 600 members, which is the largest one in the entire industry.

This is all good news for workers, but there’s also a dark cloud floating around the industry. There have been a boatload of layoffs throughout the past several months. As a matter of fact, over 6,000 people lost their jobs in January alone. Impacted workers hail from many of the companies mentioned above, like Sega of America, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax.

As for Avalanche, it’s continuing work on the forthcoming Xbox exclusive Contraband. The game’s been in the pipeline since 2021 and it looks to be an open-world co-op adventure set in the 1970s.

Workers at Sega of America, a division of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., have officially ratified their union contract, as reported by Bloomberg. This makes it one of the first major North American video-game companies to take this step, which could bode well for future organized labor pushes in the industry.

The contract was ratified after workers overwhelmingly voted to unionize last year. It covers around 150 people working in various departments throughout the company, including brand marketing, games as a service, localization, sales and quality assurance. The union is called the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS-CWA) and it organizes with the Communications Workers of America.

There are already some provisions in place for workers as part of the contract, including a minimum pay increase of 4 percent in 2024, 3 percent in 2025 and 2.5 percent in 2026. There are also layoff protections, codified benefits like health insurance, a severance inclusion and a commitment to credit all workers on games.

“We’re hopeful that in the midst of extensive layoffs, workers across the video game industry will see organizing as a pathway to improve working conditions for all of us,” wrote Jasmin Hernandez, a member of AEGIS-CWA, in a statement provided to Engadget.

Sega wasn’t exactly happy about the push toward labor rights and unionization. The company faced an unfair labor practice complaint after it announced plans to lay off 40 percent of the union's bargaining unit. The company did lay off some of these people, as promised, but the union was able to reach an agreement to keep many workers employed. 

Labor is having a moment in the games industry. ZeniMax Workers United joined with the CWA last year to offer union protection to 300 quality assurance workers. Over 600 Activision QA testers have joined a union, making it the biggest worker-formed organization in video games. Avalanche Studios, Raven Software and several small development studios have all also unionized in the past year or so.

The number of unionized workers for Microsoft's video game subsidiaries keeps growing, and the latest group to join the pool is the largest one yet. Approximately 600 quality assurance workers at Activision have joined the Communications Workers of America (CWA), making them the biggest certified union in the US video game industry. They're also the first Activision workers to organize under the agreement between Microsoft and the CWA. If you'll recall, Microsoft agreed to respect the right of Activision Blizzard workers to unionize as part of its efforts to secure regulatory approval for its $68.7 billion takeover of the video game developer. 

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. said Microsoft kept its promise to let workers decide for themselves whether they want a union. Part of Microsoft's pledge when it agreed to make a pact with the CWA was that it would take neutral approach during a union campaign, and the company said it didn't interfere or influence people's votes. 

Another element of their agreement was giving employees access to "innovative technology-supported and streamlined process for choosing whether to join a union," which includes not having to petition the National Labor Relations Board for an election. In this instance, the workers only had to sign a union authorization card or to vote online. According to The New York Times, 390 workers voted in favor of forming a union, while eight people were opposed to it. Around 200 more didn't cast their vote. 

In early 2023, Microsoft also recognized a union with 300 workers for Zenimax, the owner of Bethesda and another one of the company's video gaming subsidiaries, which was the largest one for the video game industry at the time. Those workers also unionized under the simpler process enabled by the company's agreement with CWA. By the end of the year, Microsoft agreed to hire 77 temporary QA contractors as full-time unionized Zenimax employees, which was a welcomed win for workers in an industry beset by layoffs.  

Sega of America plans to lay off 61 employees in March, according to a California WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) report. Eurogamer and X user @WhatLayoff first reported on the government notice, which lists two separate job cuts classified as “layoff permanent” on March 8. It’s the latest chapter in a year-plus of brutal job cuts in the tech and gaming worlds.

California’s WARN Act, passed in 1988, requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice for upcoming layoffs — allowing the affected workers time to prepare. It applies to companies with at least 75 full-time or part-time workers and covers layoffs of 50 or more people within 30 days. It isn’t clear precisely how many workers Sega of America employs.

The WARN report lists separate layoffs (one of 12 and another of 49 workers) at two Irvine, CA-based Sega of America offices. The job cuts both have a “notice” date of January 8, and the reports were “processed” by California on January 29 with “effective” dates of March 8.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Sega in November after the publisher allegedly said it would lay off 80 unionized workers. At the time, the organization said Sega presented the proposal in a captive audience meeting, describing the circumstances as “a clear case of bad faith bargaining.”

The Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA (AEGIS-CWA), the union representing Sega workers in the US, wrote on X Tuesday that the company announced the latest plans “a few months ago,” suggesting the layoffs posted in the WARN notice are part of the same roadmap. The union said Sega plans to outsource quality assurance and some localization work “in a move that would significantly impact our workforce.”

Sega hasn’t publicly confirmed the layoffs. Engadget reached out to a company representative, and we’ll update this article if we hear back.

The layoffs come less than two months after Sega said it would refresh its classics Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Eurogamer notes the company’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which launched last week, has been a high mark for the publisher.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found that eBay has violated the rights of unionized workers at TCGPlayer, a trading card marketplace owned by the company. This comes in response to charges filed by the Communications Workers of America back in March of this year. eBay has allegedly refused to recognize TCGPlayer’s worker union and it delayed participating in any bargaining practices and it has also refused to divulge any information with the group that the union is legally entitled to.

As part of its examination of the issue, the NLRB said that because eBay and TCGPlayer broke the law, the company must face legal consequences for its union-busting practices. The union, which officially formed in March following numerous anti-union actions from eBay and TCGPlayer, was denied representation during disciplinary investigations. The NLRB also found that eBay was changing working conditions and benefits without engaging in bargaining with the group. On top of that, eBay is said to have even enforced rules that would punish any workers’ elections to unionize.

While the NLRB lays out evidence of eBay’s union-busting practices, it did not officially issue a decision on the matter. The agency is still waiting on the company’s response to the issue. “Now that the board has come to a decision on eBay’s illegal practices, we hope the company will see the light, obey labor law and engage in good faith bargaining practices so that workers can secure a strong union contract,” Dennis Trainor, Communications Workers of America District 1 Vice-President, said in a statement. eBay could not be reached for comment.

Microsoft has agreed to union contract language regarding its use of artificial intelligence, which should give workers a voice when challenging how the technology’s deployed, as reported by Bloomberg. This is the first US instance of collective bargaining in Microsoft’s history and could be a huge step for those employed with the tech giant.

This came to pass as part of negotiations with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union and involves contract language that covers a few hundred staffers at Microsoft’s game studio ZeniMax, which includes well-known subsidiaries like Bethesda and Arkane, among others.

The gist here is that the contract language incorporates Microsoft’s previously-announced AI principles, sort of a ten commandments type deal. The language dictates that AI systems will “treat all people fairly” and “empower everyone.” To that end, it will give employees covered under the contract an avenue of recourse should they feel that Microsoft isn’t holding up its end of the bargain. Microsoft even hired dozens of ZeniMax contract workers as full-time employees, potentially as a show of good faith.

“The goal is to ensure tools and technologies benefit rather than harm workers,” the contract states. The language stipulates that Microsoft must inform the CWA whenever AI or related automation technology is implemented in a way that could impact workers. If requested, the company must enter into good-faith negotiations regarding the change. This is a big first step, considering Microsoft’s massive play into the AI space via integration with OpenAI products.

This would be news on its own, given Microsoft’s former hesitance to engage with unions in any way, shape or form. However, there’s more. The company also entered into a partnership with the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of unions. The entities struck a deal that ensures Microsoft will remain neutral in efforts by unions to encourage workers to join up.

The partnership also creates an “open dialogue” to discuss AI and how it impacts workers. The AFL-CIO calls this team-up the “first of its kind between a labor organization and a technology company.” Microsoft has committed to share information with labor leaders regarding impactful AI trends and consider “worker perspectives” when developing new technologies.

Why the about face? There’s a whole lot of uncertainty out there regarding artificial intelligence and how it will impact workers across multiple industries. It looks like Microsoft is setting itself up to be the “adult in the room” when compared to rival entities. It’s worth noting, though, that Microsoft shareholders rejected a proposal last week that would slow down AI spending until a risk-assessment project could be conducted.

Game studios and publishers have collectively laid off an estimated 9,000-plus workers this year. Microsoft (which itself has laid off workers from Xbox teams in 2023) is bucking the trend to a certain extent by hiring dozens of ZeniMax quality assurance contractors as unionized employees.

The company agreed at the beginning of this year to formally recognize a union representing around 300 QA workers at ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda that Microsoft bought in 2021. As part of bargaining talks that have been ongoing since April, Microsoft has agreed to hire 77 temporary workers and incorporate them into the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA (Communications Workers of America) union.

Microsoft is hiring 23 of the workers as full-time, permanent employees with a pay increase of 22.2 percent. The other 54 workers are getting an immediate pay bump from $18 per hour to $20.75 an hour. Once the collective bargaining agreement is ratified, Microsoft will hire those workers as temporary employees.

According to the CWA, the new employees will now receive paid holidays and sick leave. The latter was previously only available if contractors lived in a jurisdiction that requires paid time off for illness. In addition, all of the workers will receive a copy of Starfield, the blockbuster game they had worked on. The CWA says it was not standard practice for contractors to get copies of the games they help to ship.

The CWA says the union will keep fighting for more contractors to have a pathway to permanent roles. “We look forward to continued good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement,” Microsoft vice president Amy Pannoni told Bloomberg.

“We are now stronger at the bargaining table and are working to secure a fair contract for all workers — direct employees and contractors," Chris Lusco, associate QA tester and a member of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, said in a statement. "We are all a part of ZeniMax Studio’s success and we all deserve our fair share. We hope to set a new precedent for workers across Microsoft and the entire gaming industry so that all workers, regardless of their employment status, are able to improve their working conditions through collective bargaining."

Last year, while Microsoft was attempting to win regulatory approval to buy Activision Blizzard, the company said it would remain neutral when the publisher's employees wished to unionize. A pact it reached with the CWA to that effect is set to come into force on December 12, 60 days after the Activision deal closed.