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EA's buisness practices...

Sundance_3 - Nov 14, 2004

		Sundance_3		Nov 14, 2004
			EA's buisness practices... Lately one of the big stories engulfing game sites seems to the apparent neglect that EA has shown to it's body of employees (specifically massive hours with little or no added compensation). For those who haven't read anything, you can get most of the information from here: EA Slashdot Posting... Anyway, I was wondering what everyone here though about this.

		it290		Nov 15, 2004
			EA's buisness practices... Sadly, this kind of thing is too typical, not just in the games industry, but also in the software industry at large as well as the entertainment biz. That said, it certainly sounds like EA is being even more exploitive than many other companies. I'm a pretty pro-labor kinda guy, and stories like these make me realize the value of unions more and more.

		Berty		Nov 15, 2004
			EA's buisness practices... I've done lots of work in post-production and sound design etc. Generally the hours are really shitty (11pm till 7am) with no overtime. Deadlines, profit margins and understaffing.

mal

Nov 15, 2004

EA's buisness practices...

	
	
		
		
			Originally posted by it290@Mon, 2004-11-15 @ 07:07 PM



Sadly, this kind of thing is too typical, not just in the games industry, but also in the software industry at large as well as the entertainment biz.[post=123752]Quoted post[/post]

That's certainly not the case in my neck of the woods.

At the very worst I'll get time off in lieu, but for the most part it's overtime.

Alexvrb

Nov 15, 2004

EA's buisness practices...

	
	
		
		
			Originally posted by it290@Mon, 2004-11-15 @ 03:07 AM



I'm a pretty pro-labor kinda guy, and stories like these make me realize the value of unions more and more.

There are many downsides to unions too, you know. Most of them end up with a man or group at the top with power over the union, which is often abused. I can't think of many unions that don't have some degree of corruption, and they often become practically mandatory, and they charge you money, which often is funneled into the pockets of a few without really addressing concerns. I'm glad I live in a right to work state now, and yes I quite obviously have seen what unions can do. If a business abuses you, especially if they do it to lots of other employees, there are other ways to strike back these days. Lawsuits, while drastic, really get the attention of an abusive employer.

		it290		Nov 15, 2004
			EA's buisness practices... Well, pretty much every programmer I know is on salary, and they generally work a lot of OT and don't get paid any extra for it. And as the original article states, California has exclusionary laws where coders are concerned. America's labor policies are really a lot shittier in some areas than those of other countries.

		Alexvrb		Nov 18, 2004
			EA's buisness practices... Yeah well first they need to find a solution to US companies outsourcing, especially for programmers.