Bethesda Game Studios is officially the first Microsoft game developer to full unionize under the Communication Workers of America (CWA), forming a “wall-to-wall” union of developers including artists, engineers, programmers and designers. Microsoft has recognized the union.
Just days after Bethesda Game Studios became the first Xbox division to form a “wall-to-wall” union, over 500 devs working on World of Warcraft have now done the same at Blizzard.
The union was confirmed after 241 developers either signed a union authorization card or indicated that they wanted unionization via an online portal. It follows Bethesda Games Studios Montreal’s unionization in late June and the unionization of roughly 300 quality assurance workers within Zenimax, which is Bethesda’s parent company.
Senior producer Samuel Cooper, a developer involved in helping organize the unionization push, tells IGN that there was a sort of friendly race between the unionizing workers at Bethesda and Blizzard. “In a friendly way, we were seeing who was going to squeak in there first,” Cooper says. “Never happier to be outrun. Huge congratulations to them.”
The new union will now negotiate a contract with Microsoft.
“We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry,” senior system designer Mandi Parker said in a statement via press release. “It is clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company.
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