The consortium of Microsoft Gaming employees won a tentative agreement with the company, the first in the industry.
The U.S. Communications Workers (CWA) on behalf of more than 300 quality assurance workers at Zenimax Studios announced the deal Friday. Zenimax was acquired by Microsoft in 2020 and is the parent company of video game developer Arkane Studios, ID Software and MachineGames, and publisher Bethesda Softworks.
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Zenimax workers United-CWA first combined in 2023 and after two years of negotiations, they reached a contract agreement with Microsoft. According to the announcement, the contracted wage increases the minimum wage for employees, as well as the protection of arbitrary dismissals, grievance procedures, and credit policies that confirm quality assurance workers’ contributions.
The contract also includes a 2023 agreement on AI. Zenimax agreed to provide notifications on AI implementation that affects the work of union members and has the opportunity to bargain.
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“Competing with one of the world’s largest companies is not a small feat. It’s a huge win for all current video game workers and later on,” Page Branson, a member of the transaction committee of Senior II QA QA Tester and Zenimax Workers United CWA said in a press release.
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.
In recent years, video game studio employees have been organizing the organization. Last year, workers from Bethesda Studios and Activision QA workers formed a union. In March, the CWA announced the U.S. and Canadian unions across the industry, known as the United Video Game Workers CWA.
Disclosure: Newsguild-CWA represents Ziff Davis-owned Mashable workers and employees of other technology publishers.
