Nintendo and QA worker settle NLRB complaint

A former Nintendo of America QA worker, who had filed a National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) complaint in April against the company has settled with Nintendo of America (Aston Carter), a staffing agent.

Aston Carter is expected to take responsibility for the NLRB accusation and will pay $29 910 in back pay and damages. Interest, as per the Polygon settlement documents. In order to notify its QA workers about their rights under National Labor Relations Act, Nintendo must also post a notice via email and at its office. This notice should be displayed for at least 60 days.

Below are the settlement documents in their entirety.

Mackenzie Clifton, the aforementioned QA worker, spoke about the chance of a settlement with Axios in September; they asked for a “letter of apology” from Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser. Clifton was initially given the chance to meet with HR by Nintendo. Axios confirmed this. The two parties appeared to have reached an agreement on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the NLRB received the bilateral settlement agreement. This means that each party must keep their word.

Clifton filed the original charge in April, alleging that Nintendo of America fired them for “support[ing] a labor union,” according to the documents. They also said the firing was an effort to “discourage union activities and/or membership.” Kotaku reported in August that Clifton, a contracted QA worker, asked a question about unionization in a company meetings and was later fired for allegedly violating a non-disclosure agreement. Nintendo told Polygon earlier this year that Clifton was fired for divulging “confidential information,” but Clifton disputed that in an Axios interview, saying they only made a vague tweet that Nintendo overstated.

Aston Carter was also indicted on August 2nd for labor violations. It alleged that Nintendo fired a worker “engaged in protected concerted activity,” alongside other charges.

After many years of work and groundwork, union activity is increasing in the video gaming industry. In North America, there weren’t any video game unions until late 2021. Today, there are many union organizations in North America. The industry’s union push is being led largely by QA workers and small indie studios.