241 Bethesda Developers Unionize

Stephen Totilo has reported on twitter that 241 Bethesda Game Studio workers have unionized, and that Microsoft has recognized it.

Stephen Totilo has reported breaking news on Twitter:

Breaking: Bethesda Game Studios workers have unionized. Not the same as the QA union. This time it’s “wall to wall”… “241 developers including artists, engineers, programmers and designers”, per the CWA. And they say Microsoft has recognized the union.

This comes a few months after the CWA and ZeniMax entered a Union Neutrality Agreement:

the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) and Microsoft have announced they have extended their ground-breaking labor neutrality agreement to cover workers at Microsoft subsidiary ZeniMax Media Inc, enabling all eligible ZeniMax workers to freely and fairly make a choice about union representation.

As the industry sees large-scale layoffs and studio closures, ZeniMax and Microsoft’s own shutterings in particular, this is fantastic news for ZeniMax employees and those that are part of a union already. Per their recent blog post:

“Thousands of our ZeniMax co-workers now have a free and fair path to organize together for better working conditions. When we organized our union under a similar legal agreement the process was clear and management did not try to influence anyone’s decision and the company did not try to interfere with the voting process. There is strength in numbers, and as our numbers grow at ZeniMax, at Microsoft, and in the video game industry, we will gain the respect we deserve and raise the standards of working conditions for everyone across the video gaming industry. When we benefit, the consumer and the company will ultimately benefit with us and help keep this industry stable for current and future workers,” said Page Branson, Senior II QA Tester and member of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA.

Today’s agreement is similar to the legally binding Labor Neutrality Agreement forged between CWA and Microsoft in 2022, which covered Activision Blizzard and went into effect in April of this year, as well as the agreement covering Quality Assurance testers at ZeniMax. Under the agreement, Microsoft will take a neutral approach when covered employees express interest in joining CWA; covered employees will be able to easily exercise their right to communicate with other employees and union representatives about union membership in a way that encourages information sharing and avoids business disruptions; and employees will have access to a streamlined process for choosing whether to join CWA which allows them to maintain confidentiality and privacy of that choice if they wish. The agreement also establishes a dispute resolution and arbitration process if a disagreement arises between CWA and Microsoft under the agreement.

“We continue to put our labor principles into practice by entering into a neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on behalf of workers at ZeniMax. We appreciate CWA’s collaboration in reaching this agreement and look forward to continuing our positive labor management relationship,” said Amy Pannoni, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, HR Legal at Microsoft

Quality Assurance workers at Zenimax formed ZeniMax Workers United-CWA last year and have reached a watershed tentative agreement on the use of AI in the workplace as they continue to bargain their first collective contract. CWA represents video game workers at Microsoft, Sega and more organizing for a protected voice on the job.