ZeniMax Workers United, a union representing over 300 quality assurance workers, has voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations with Microsoft don’t improve. More than 94% of union members supported this decision after nearly two years of unsuccessful talks.
The union, which is part of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), became the first union Microsoft voluntarily recognized in 2023. These workers have helped create popular video games like Fallout, Starfield, Doom, and The Elder Scrolls.
Despite working together for two years, the union and Microsoft haven’t been able to agree on a first contract. The main issues include better pay, workplace improvements, remote work options, and concerns about Microsoft replacing union workers with outsourced labor without proper notification.
“Paying your employees a livable wage as a multi-trillion dollar company is the least they could be doing,” said Aubrey Litchfield, an associate QA tester and union member. She added that when workers bring up these concerns, “Microsoft acts as though we’re asking for too much.”
Zachary Armstrong, a senior QA tester and union member, further explained that many workers have put their lives on hold because their income doesn’t match the rising cost of living in the cities where ZeniMax requires them to work. “If Microsoft and ZeniMax continue to demonstrate at the bargaining table that they’re unwilling to pay us fair wages for the value our labor provides to our games, we’ll be showing them just how valuable our labor is,” Armstrong said.
This isn’t the first time the union has taken a stand. Last December, members staged a one-day walkout in Maryland and Texas to protest Microsoft’s outsourcing practices and return-to-office policies. The CWA also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Microsoft, accusing them of outsourcing work without consulting the union.
Microsoft, responding to the strike authorization vote, insists they are “deeply committed to reaching a fair and equitable resolution.” Company spokesperson Delaney Simmons told The Verge that they’ve made “substantial progress” in negotiations and reached “tentative agreements on a majority of the topics at the table.”
“We have presented a package proposal that we believe is fair,” Simmons added. “If accepted it would result in immediate compensation increases, even more robust benefits and is in alignment to the company’s hybrid model of three days in office.”
ZeniMax Workers United is part of a much bigger movement in the gaming industry. In recent years, workers at companies like Activision, Blizzard, and Sega have also formed unions. Just last month, the CWA launched the United Videogame Workers initiative, which is open to both freelance and full-time game industry workers across the US and Canada.
For now, all eyes are on Microsoft. Will they step up and give these workers a fair deal? Or will ZeniMax Workers United have to take things to the next level with a strike?
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