ZeniMax quality assurance workers vote to form biggest video game union in the US

4 January, 2023

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A “supermajority” of quality assurance workers at ZeniMax Media have voted to join a union, creating the biggest video game union in the United States.

ZeniMax Workers United/Communications Workers of America is also the first video game studio union at parent company Microsoft.

Staff at ZeniMax, which oversees Bethesda Softworks, announced the union at the start of December, with Microsoft remaining “committed to staying neutral throughout the process”. The official voting period ran from December 2 to December 31.

“In light of the results of the recent unionisation vote, we recognise the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as the bargaining representative for the Quality Assurance employees at ZeniMax,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to PC Gamer. “We look forward to engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards 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,” senior QA tester Skylar Hinnant said in a statement. “This is an empowering victory that allows us to protect ourselves and each other in a way we never could without a union. Our hope and belief is that this is the year in which game workers across the country exercise their power and reshape the industry as a whole.”

Senior QA tester Dylan Burton added: “It’s difficult to express in words just how much winning our union matters to us. We’ve been working so hard to get here that it would be impossible not to be excited. We know this is not the end of our hard work, but reaching this milestone gives us faith that when workers stand together, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.”

Back in December, the union outlined four major points that it hoped to secure for its members:

  • Fair treatment for all individuals + wages commensurate with the value we provide
  • Opportunities for advancement within the company
  • Accountability + transparency
  • A voice in decision making around scheduling, workload + more

A 2022 survey revealed that 79 per cent of video games workers supported unionisation. 

Microsoft’s support for the union is at odds with the soon-to-be-acquired Activision Blizzard, who previously hired the renowned union-busting legal firm WilmerHale to review the company’s policies after a lawsuit accused the firm of subjecting employees to “constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances” in the workplace.

“Microsoft has lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want a union,” said CWA President Chris Shelton following ZeniMax’s unionisation success.

“Other video game and tech giants have made a conscious choice to attack, undermine, and demoralise their own employees when they join together to form a union. Microsoft is charting a different course which will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators.”

In other news, numerous Forza Horizon 5 players are currently taking to the open-world racing game in their Hoonigan cars to pay tribute to rally legend Ken Block who passed away earlier this week.

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