Yesterday, ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, the union made up of more than 300 quality assurance workers at Microsoft via its subsidiary ZeniMax Media, reached a tentative contract agreement with Microsoft. The union was formed back in 2022, and has been bargaining with Microsoft in the intervening years since. Last month, the union was preparing to potentially strike against Microsoft, but now it seems like this may be avoided.
If fully agreed to, the contract will bring in “substantial across-the-board wage increases as well as new minimum salaries for workers”, according to a press release from the CWA. On top of that, there would be protections against arbitrary dismissal, grievance procedures, and a “crediting policy that clearly acknowledges the QA workers’ contributions to the video games they help create.” The press release notes that the agreement would also include an agreement made in 2023 in relation to how AI is used in the workplace.
To be clear, this contract isn’t set in stone just yet. Explanation meetings need to be held for members over the coming weeks, and according to the CWA a ratification vote should be completed by June 20th. If it goes through, it will be a huge win for the workers, and should set a big precedent for game workers employed at a Microsoft-owned studio.
Earlier this month, a union made up of almost 200 Overwatch devs was also formed alongside the CWA, called the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild. Microsoft have already recognised this union as well. If things continue to go well for ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, perhaps we’ll see wins at other unions further down the line. I for one have my fingers deeply tied for such results.
