January 4, 2023
Hundreds of quality assurance workers and game developers at ZeniMax studios voted to form a union, which Microsoft, the company’s owner, has voluntarily recognized.
The majority of quality assurance (QA) professionals at the developer chose to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union in a card count that was completed on Tuesday, according to the CWA.
The union will include approximately 300 game testers from ZeniMax’s Maryland and Texas studios, including Doom creators id Software, as well as Arkane and Bethesda, the teams behind major 2023 Xbox exclusives Redfall and Starfield. Their mission is to put an end to the company’s sudden periods of crunch, unfair pay, and lack of growth opportunities.
“Our union will push for truly competitive pay, better communication between management and workers, a clear path for those that want to progress their career, and more,” Victoria Banos said in a press release.
“In light of the results of the recent unionization vote, we recognize the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as the bargaining representative for the Quality Assurance employees at ZeniMax. We look forward to engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.
