Nintendo worker behind labor complaint says they were fired for discussing unionization

gamedeveloper.com:

The employee who filed a complaint against Nintendo of America and staffing partner Aston Carter earlier this year has spoken in greater detail about the company's alleged union busting practices and workplace culture.

In April 2022, an anonymous worker who has since stepped forward as Mackenzie Clifton accused Nintendo of America and global recruiter Aston Carter of taking "concerted" and "coercive" steps to disrupt potential unionization efforts. That complaint was filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Now, in a wide-ranging interview with Axios, Clifton claims they were fired because they asked Nintendo management questions about unionization.

Notably, Clifton suggests their dismissal is directly linked to a question they asked Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser during a Q&A session in a bid to find out what the company thinks "about the unizionation trend in QA in the games industry as of late."

Clifton claims their question wasn't addressed in the meeting, but that later on in the day they were told by an Aston Carter supervisor the query was a "downer question." Aston Carter also reportedly told Clifton to send any similar questions its way, as opposed to asking Nintendo directly.

Clifton said they were "baffled and kind of angry" at the response, and that, less than a month later, they were fired.

For its part, Nintendo says Clifton was fired for publicly disclosing confidential information rather than raising the issue of unionization, which has been a hot topic of late as more and more teams in the game industry -- specifically those working in QA -- seek to organize.

Clifton disputes that claim, and after asking their supervisors for more information about that apparent leak was reportedly