of american telecom workers (opens in new tab) today announced that an “overwhelming majority” of ZeniMax Studios’ QA workers have officially voted to join ZeniMax Workers United/CWA. This will form the first video game studio union at his parent company, Microsoft, which will be the largest one for at least a while. United States Video Game Workers’ Union.
The official voting period was from Dec. 2 to Dec. 31, but the CWA said union organizing efforts had been underway at ZeniMax for “several months,” with some employees set to vote in November. He said he began to sign union authentication cards.
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Senior QA Tester Skylar Hinnant said: “This is a powerful victory that will allow us to protect ourselves and each other in ways we never could have done without our union. , is to be the year that reshapes the industry…whole.”
“It’s hard to put into words how important a union win is to us.” We know this is not the end of our efforts, but reaching this milestone gives us the belief that if we work together, we can achieve anything. rice field.”
In contrast to Activision Blizzard, which has fought unions (opens in new tab) Microsoft, which may soon become Activision’s parent company, promised neutrality when ZeniMax’s union vote was first announced. (opens in new tab)Shortly after the votes were tallied, Microsoft extended formal recognition of the new union.
In a statement emailed to PC Gamer, a Microsoft spokesperson said, “In light of the results of a recent union vote, Communications Workers of America (CWA) has been appointed negotiating representative for ZeniMax’s quality assurance employees. “I look forward to negotiating in good faith as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement.”
CWA president Chris Shelton has been critical of other game studios and technology companies trying to unionize by choosing to “attack, undermine and demoralize” their employees. He paid tribute to Microsoft for “showing another way to strengthen the company’s culture and capabilities.” in order to serve our customers. “Microsoft’s approach to unionization “should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators,” Shelton added. This will no doubt sound good as Microsoft continues to pursue regulatory approval. (opens in new tab) Regarding the Acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Big news! Congrats @ZeniMaxWorkers! We are so excited to officially welcome them to the CWA family! https://t.co/55X6468UW1January 3, 2023
Activision-Blizzard has been at the center of efforts to unionize the games industry, but the formation of ZeniMax Workers United is a big deal in and of itself. The company’s subsidiaries include Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks, id Software, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, and ZeniMax. online studio. The CWA said the new union “will include all of his QA employees in the United States at ZeniMax’s various studios.”
Another Activision Blizzard studio also recently announced plans to form a union: Proletariat (opens in new tab)Acquired by Activision in June 2022. Unlike the ZeniMax union and Activision Blizzard’s other unions, which only cover QA workers, the Proletariat union covers the entire studio.
