The majority of QA staff at ZeniMax Studios, including studios such as id Software, Arkane and Bethesda, voted to join the ZeniMax United/Media Workers union.
About 300 QA employees at ZeniMax voted to say they wanted to join the coalition, which equates to a majority vote, and Microsoft chose to recognize that. What does this match? Microsoft said last monthwhere it announced that if these workers voted to form a union, it will voluntarily recognize the alliance. ZeniMax is the first of a group of unified Microsoft teams, and it’s currently the largest unified QA testing team of any US-based studio.
“In front of us is an opportunity to make big changes and bring justice to the video game industry,” senior QA audio tester Victoria Banos wrote in a CWA. Press Release. “We want to end a period of sudden crisis, unfair pay and lack of growth opportunities within the company. Our union will promote truly competitive wages, better communication between management. and workers, a clear path for those who want to advance their careers, and more.”
The CWA writes that QA employees on various ZeniMax teams “have organized for months to positively transform ZeniMax for the benefit of employees, the company, and the players who love the studio’s games.” These workers started signing union authorization cards (you can sign one of these cards and submit or vote via the online portal) in November and the voting process officially started on 2nd of May. 12 and ends on December 31.
suitable for publication of labor principlesMicrosoft remains neutral throughout the process, according to the CWA, allowing workers to make their own decisions about the merger.
“Microsoft has lived up to its promise to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want to unionize,” CWA President Chris Shelton wrote in a press release. “Other tech and video game giants made a conscious choice to attack, weaken, and demoralize their own employees as they banded together to form an alliance. Microsoft is outlines another roadmap to strengthen corporate culture and customer service and should serve as a model for industry and as a blueprint for regulators.”
Senior QA tester at ZeniMax, Dylan Burton, writes that it’s hard to put into words how important this alliance win is.
Burton writes: “We know this is not the end of our hard work, but achieving this important milestone gives us confidence that when workers stand side by side, together, we can accomplish anything we set our mind to.”
ZeniMax United workers join other companies like activated and Apple hosted through the CWA.
