Just to make things clear right off the bat, the following editorial is not the official stance of Netjak.com; it’s merely my own. It’s kind of assumed with most of these editorials, but I have to make that clear right off the bat, since I’m really asking for controversy on this one. That, and a potential lawsuit. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
At this point, I should hope you’ve heard about the growing discontent about Electronic Arts. It’s kind of difficult to miss, actually. The company, which has grown to become one of the most massive video game developers in the world, is facing rising accusations of being one of the worst employers in the entire industry. And it doesn’t take much digging to find out much of the dirt.
The first indication that problems existed came on July 29, 2004. That’s when Robert A. Schubert of San Francisco filed a lawsuit on the behalf of several EA employees (some of which currently are still with the company), claiming that they weren’t fairly compensated for overtime put in for projects. Earlier this month, a judge refused EA’s motion to dismiss the case outright, meaning that the first legal hurdle to a trial is underway. How serious is this? EA has sent a memo (leaked to several media), promising their employees that they will not face retribution should they take part. (Thanks to Gamespot for providing that info.) Before you say that EA is being gracious with that memo, keep in mind that they’re basically legally required to say that; threatening would-be whistle-blowers with punitive measures breaks quite a few labor laws.
However, the storm really erupted when one significant other, going only by the nom de net “EA_Spouse,” posted the experiences that they and their partner deal with at the company. Why did it take EA_Spouse to come forward when the class action lawsuit was underway? Possibly because legal action is common and a bit obtuse for the average gamer. But we can all understand someone having to work 70-80 hour workweeks and the effect that this has on their families. EA_Spouse’s charges are more fierce than that, though – as their partner is salary, like most programmers, they don’t get overtime, and EA has apparently decided to end comp time programs for all that extra work.
Fanning the flames, though, was when Joe Straitiff, a former employee, decided to use his own LiveJournal to make his own charges. His aren’t quite as severe as EA_Spouse’s charges, but, as he asserts, he was constantly being pressured to put in more time than the 50 hours he tried to max out at. He was regularly cold-called at home, reassigned without any discussion, and generally treated like one of the Sims he helped program. His charges mesh with those of EA_Spouse’s, and the comments both journals have generated seem to back up their words.
Moreover, while I can’t say for certain that their charges are true, I think we have a case where something looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. As more of these stories come to light, the more it looks that Electronic Arts is treating their employees like garbage. It’s also quite telling that EA isn’t even bothering to refute any of the charges, or even issue the standard legal “we refuse to comment at this time.” It seems to my semi-trained eye that EA knows those charges are true and are afraid to say anything public about them for two reasons. One, they hope the charges will go away. Two, they don’t want to find themselves in more trouble for lying if they are caught.
Interestingly enough, some are even doing knee-jerk negative responses to the coverage being given. Kotaku, the only notable gaming blog I can find, seems to be snarky about conditions at the company. Sure, as he points out, EA is giving free meals and laundry for its employees. But seriously, those things probably cost me about $110 a month if I go luxurious, and I don’t make my purchases in bulk. EA, however, certainly can. So it seems to me that instead of hiring three programmers at $60,000 a year, and having them work 40 hours a week, EA insists on hiring two at $60,000, giving them a bit over $1,200 worth of perks for the year (using my $110 per person as a liberal estimate for their weekly perks). It’s cost-effective, but more than a little bit illegal. And it’s certainly quite immoral.
So now I get to the dangerous part of the piece. It’s a shame that all of these events are happening to EA’s employees. They’ve worked hard to get involved with an industry they really care about, and they get treated like dirt. I certainly don’t think it’s fair to anyone involved. That’s why I’m asking every gamer, during the holiday season, to boycott Electronic Arts and all their properties. It isn’t right that the company works these people ragged to please a bunch of customers that the programmers never get to see or hear from. EA obviously doesn’t care about anything but the bottom line, so the only way to make them correct their behavior is to attack that. I don’t know how many others will join me in this, but until EA shows that they’ve cleaned up their act, they won’t get a single dollar more from this gamer. I know this doesn’t do much for EA_Spouse, Joe Straitiff, and Robert Schubert’s clients, but I for one will take a principled stand with them, instead of meekly watching them get abused. I’d like to humbly ask that everyone reading this consider doing the same.
