Bethesda and ZeniMax Workers Approve Potential Strike Action

After two years of contract negotiations with parent company Microsoft, ZeniMax Workers United members have voted in overwhelming favor to authorize a strike. The union announced the news earlier today via a press release shared by Communications Workers of America, writing, “We’re not afraid to use our union power to ensure that we can keep making great games. All of us want to be working. We hope that Microsoft will allow us to do so with dignity and fairness to all by securing a first contract with our union.”

First reported by The Verge, the news comes after more than two years of contract negotiations between ZeniMax Workers United and Microsoft. Since the union’s formation back in 2023, members have been actively pushing Microsoft for better wages, workplace improvements, and to address “key concerns, including a lack of remote work options and the company’s replacement of in-house quality-assurance work with outsourced labor without notifying the union.” Last November, members of the union walked off the job in a one-day strike, to “call out the company for lack of progress at the bargaining table.” Though the most recent vote does not mean union workers have officially gone on strike, it gives the organization permission to call for one, should contract negotiations further break down.

“Despite being one of the world’s largest corporations, we’ve had to continuously fight for what should be bare minimum. Paying your employees a livable wage as a multi-trillion dollar company is the least they could be doing; however when addressed at the bargaining table, Microsoft acts as though we’re asking for too much,” ZeniMax Workers United member and associate QA tester Aubrey Litchfield wrote in the press release. “Our in-house contractors have been working on minimal wages with no benefits, including no paid sick time. Workers are choosing not to start families because of the uncertainty of finances. We’ve released multiple titles while working fully remote. When will enough be enough?”

Consisting of more than 300 quality-assurance workers across Bethesda and ZeniMax studios, ZeniMax Workers United is one of Microsoft’s largest unions. Its members are known for their work across several prominent Microsoft series, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom. With Doom: The Dark Ages scheduled to release in just over a month, a strike could have significant consequences for Microsoft.

Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA members who work in the video games industry continue to strike following growing concerns about AI. As of right now, it’s still not clear when the strike (which went into effect July 26, 2024) might end. As it stands, any developer looking to employ SAG-AFTRA talent to perform must sign either the new Tiered-Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement, the Interim Interactive Media Agreement, or the Interim Interactive Localization Agreement before moving forward with production, all of which offer “critical AI protection.”

Update: Following this article’s publication, a representative from Microsoft reached out to GameSpot to provide the following statement:

“Our quality assurance team is an integral part of our business and is key to our ability to deliver games our players will love. We respect the team’s right to express their viewpoints and are deeply committed to reaching a fair and equitable resolution that acknowledges the teams’ contributions. There has been substantial progress over the course of the negotiations, reaching tentative agreements on a majority of the topics at the table. We have presented a package proposal that we believe is fair–if accepted it would result in immediate compensation increases, even more robust benefits and is in alignment to the company’s hybrid model of 3 days in office. We look forward to continuing this progress during negotiations.”