Over 300 quality assurance testers at Bethesda parent company ZeniMax, a Microsoft-owned company, voted to form a union with the Communication Workers of America (thanks Axios). After a third party confirmed the vote, Microsoft voluntarily recognized the union and will not seek to overturn the vote, unlike Activision Blizzard, which recently said it would attempt to challenge the newly-formed Blizzard Albany union.
The new union includes DOOM maker iD Software, Skyrim and Starfield developer Bethesda, and Arkane, the team behind Deathloop and Redfall.
Microsoft is currently attempting to convince the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that its pending purchase of Activision Blizzard would pose no harm to the budding labor movement in the games industry. Previously, the Xbox maker said it would honor all decisions workers made to organize.
Microsoft told Axios that the company looks forward to engaging in “good faith negotiations” as they work toward a collective bargaining agreement.
“We’re thrilled to kick off 2023 in a workplace that’s stronger and more equitable than it was last year,” ZeniMax tester Skylar Hinnant told Axios in an email.
“We want to put an end to sudden periods of crunch, unfair pay, and lack of growth opportunities within the company,” another said in a separate email.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
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