ZeniMax testers create first US Microsoft union

Organisers praised Microsoft's support for their efforts

Workers at Microsoft's ZeniMax Studios have voted to form the company's first official labour union in the USA.

According to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, Microsoft agreed to recognise the union after most of the 300 quality assurance (QA) testers at the video game production studio supported the proposal.

The new group has overnight become the biggest union ever in the history of the video game industry, as well as Microsoft's first union in the United States.

ZeniMax is the studio behind popular games DOOM, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Microsoft acquired the firm in 2021 for $7.5 billion, bringing these gaming franchises to its Xbox console and Windows exclusively under the Xbox Game Studios banner.

According to CWA, QA testers at ZeniMax had been organising for several months to gain support for their unionisation efforts.

Employees began signing union authorisation cards in November 2022. The formal voting procedure launched via a confidential online site that opened on 2nd December and closed on 31st December.

Organisers are optimistic that the union will help them to improve employment prospects, minimise unfair pay practises and lessen overwork during peak periods (a common gaming industry practise known as crunch).

By voluntarily agreeing to negotiate with workers represented by unions, Microsoft would be able to avoid a formal procedure monitored by the USA's National Labor Relations Board, which is often followed by legal fights.

In June last year, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith said: "We recognise that employees have a legal right to choose whether to form or join a union. We respect this right and do not believe that our employees or the company's other stakeholders benefit by resisting lawful employee efforts to participate in protected activities, including forming or joining a union."

The idea to form a union was decided long before Microsoft purchased ZeniMax said Wayne Dayberry, a senior tester at a video game studio. He added that QA testers in the video game business are subjected to unfavourable working conditions and often receive very low pay.

CWA President Chris Shelton said Microsoft "lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want a union."

"Other video game and tech giants have made a conscious choice to attack, undermine, and demoralise their own employees when they join together to form a union. Microsoft is charting a different course which will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators."

ZeniMax's union forming follows a recent surge in unionisation efforts in the US.

As the cost of living continues to rise, employees are demanding more from their employers, leading to labour fights at a number of companies including Apple, Amazon, and Google, amongst others.