The Microsoft logo is pictured outside the headquarters in Paris, Jan. 8, 2021. A group of video game testers is forming Microsoft's first labor union in the U.S. and the largest in the video game industry. Communications Workers of America said Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, that about 300 quality assurance workers at Microsoft video game subsidiary ZeniMax Studios have voted to join the union. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Three-hundred quality assurance testers for ZeniMax, the Microsoft-owned gaming company behind the DOOM, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout franchises have successfully voted to form a union.
Microsoft officially recognized the vote after a third party confirmed the results of the month-long election. The union is Microsoft's first in the United States and just the latest example of video game workers pushing back against low pay and long hours.
"We want to put an end to sudden periods of crunch, unfair pay, and lack of growth opportunities within the company," said Victoria Banos, a senior QA audio tester, in a press release. "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."
While Amazon and Starbucks have fiercely resisted recent union drives, Microsoft in June pledged to follow an "open and constructive approach" to organizing efforts.
"Recent unionization campaigns across the country — including in the tech sector — have led us to conclude that inevitably these issues will touch on more businesses, potentially including our own," President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. "This has encouraged us to think proactively about the best approach for our employees, shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders."
Smith added that Microsoft has some experience dealing with unions in other countries but recognized "that we have more learning ahead of us than behind us."
"Microsoft has lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want a union," said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton in a press release. "Other video game and tech giants have made a conscious choice to attack, undermine, and demoralize their own employees when they join together to form a union."
Quality assurance testers in particular have proven among the most militant workers in the industry, successfully forming unions at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany.
The ZeniMax employees now will join the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
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