Per the Communication Workers of America (“CWA”), yesterday, 461 employees at Zenimax Online Studios (“ZOS”) have unionised under the ZOS United-CWA banner. This comes in the wake of unionisation efforts across the Zenimax group, Activision-Blizzard, and their subsidiaries as layoffs continue to impact thousands upon thousands of game developers and creators across the gaming industry. Microsoft and the CWA have previously signed an agreement that allows individuals within these companies to unionise freely and since then, nearly a thousand developers across the companies have banded together for better pay, job security, protections against AI, and more.
“Today, I’m intensely proud of my coworkers at ZeniMax Online Studios who are joining thousands of video game workers exercising their power to bring more stability to the industry,” said principal economy designer and ZOS United-CWA member John Hartzell. “Regardless of your studio, your title, or where you’re from, unions work to benefit us all.”
“By coming together and forming a union, we’re able to take a powerful step forward in ensuring a better future for ourselves and for our families, to create protections against layoffs and workplace exploitation, and to provide additional layers of support for workers beyond what FMLA and workplace policies already provide,” said senior motion graphics artist and ZOS United-CWA member Alyssa Gobelle. “At ZeniMax, unions belong here.”
This announcement of ZOS United-CWA marks the latest update in organizing the tech and video game industry, as over 6,000 workers in the United States and Canada have organized with the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) since launching in 2020. One can expect a continued unionisation push across Microsoft and larger companies over the next year.
