Microsoft Laying Off Staff in an Act of Retaliation and Union-Busting
THERE'S this report today of retaliatory layoffs at Microsoft [1, 2], illuminating what other publishers don't seem to be talking about (many articles these days are just mindless output of chatbots, not authored by people and not involving any actual investigation).
Here's what happened and it's probably a big deal for Microsoft because it bought some puff pieces twisting the narrative to say Microsoft respects unions. It does not:
More than 150 video game testers who worked at Lionbridge in Boise were laid off in April. The workers say they were fired in retaliation for trying to unionize.Lionbridge employees test and provide feedback on some of the most-anticipated video games long before they’re released to the public. The company has testing sites in Boise; Mexico City; and Warsaw, Poland.
The 160-person team Lionbridge laid off in Boise on April 18 provided quality assurance services to Activision, a Microsoft subsidiary and leading developer, publisher and distributor of video games, including the Call of Duty franchise.
[...]
The team that was laid off was the largest at Lionbridge’s Boise site; its members worked on what Bussabarger called “the big project.” More than 100 people assigned to other projects still work at the site, he said.
He recalled a projectwide meeting that occurred a few weeks before the layoffs, at which employees on his team voiced concerns about their working conditions. Not long after, corporate executives visited the Boise office, inquiring with project managers as to whether there was union activity or support, he said.
“Our site was specifically shouted out multiple times by our client because we were picking up slack from the other sites and doing a really good job,” he said. “We had higher ratings. So, it seemed very abrupt.”
This report cites a Microsoft-sponsored Microsoft propaganda platform, GeekWire, so Microsoft bias is being recycled. Here is the press release: (original)
Yesterday, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Lionbridge Technologies, Inc., a Microsoft supplier, alleging that the company laid off the entirety of a 160-person team in Boise, Idaho, in retaliation for workers engaging in protected organizing activities and protected speech when raising issues regarding their working conditions. This team provided quality-assurance services to Microsoft subsidiary Activision.In addition to the layoff, Lionbridge offered workers a severance package that required them to agree to overly broad confidentiality terms and to waive rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act. This practice has been ruled unlawful by the NLRB. Workers were told that the reason for their termination was that the project had ended. However, other teams working on the same project in Mexico and Poland continue to work.
Lionbridge has a documented union-busting track record. In 2016, it laid off all the members of a union in Bellevue, Wash., shortly after workers finalized a first collectively bargained contract with the company. That unit also provided subcontracted labor to Microsoft.
In 2022, Microsoft adopted principles for engagement with worker organizations, which recognized workers’ legal rights to organize and expressed a belief in “the importance of listening to our employees’ concerns.” This team of subcontracted workers and all U.S. workers enjoy those same rights and protections. CWA expects Microsoft to hold its contractors to the same standards the company has set for itself, as stated in its principles.
"Microsoft" is mentioned 5 times in this press release. █