Hundreds of ZeniMax workers go on strike to protest Microsoft 'dragging their feet' on negotiations over job security and remote work

Gaming IndustryHundreds of ZeniMax workers go on strike to protest Microsoft ‘dragging their feet’ on negotiations over job security and remote workWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas)

Image of striking ZeniMax Workers United at Rockville, Maryland on November 13, 2024

Hundreds of members of the ZeniMax Workers United union have gone on strike today to protest the “lack of progress” in negotiations with ZeniMax parent company Microsoft, as well as the company’s recent “unilateral decision” to outsource QA work amidst widespread layoffs in the videogame industry.

“Today, we are on strike,” the union posted onX. “We are not afraid to do what’s necessary to make sure that Microsoft meets us at the bargaining table over key issues like remote work options and outsourcing.

“We deserve job security and improved working conditions. Hundreds of our members are striking from 10-6PM in Maryland and Texas today to tell Microsoft to stop dragging their feet.”

(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United/CWA (Twitter))

Today, we are on strike. We are not afraid to do what’s necessary to make sure that Microsoft meets us at the bargaining table over key issues like remote work options and outsourcing. We deserve job security and improved working conditions. Hundreds of our members are striking from 10-6PM in Maryland and Texas today to tell Microsoft to stop dragging their feet.

ZeniMax Workers United wasformedas part of the Communications Workers of America in January 2023, becoming the first game studio union at Microsoft and, at the time, the largest union of videogame workers in the US. Microsoft said when the union vote passed that “we look forward to engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement,” prompting CWA president Chris Shelton to compliment the company’s approach to worker unionization, saying it “should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators.”

The honeymoon would now seem to be over, however. The CWA said in a statement that the strike is taking place “to call out [Microsoft] for the lack of progress at the bargaining table over remote work and for unilaterally outsourcing quality assurance work without bargaining with the union.”

“ZeniMax Workers United-CWA members have raised concerns that ZeniMax’s recent unilateral decision to outsource quality assurance work threatens job security amid record layoffs across the videogame industry,” the union said. The CWA also noted that it filed an unfair labor practice charge against ZeniMax in October “for contracting out work without notification.”

A representative added that contact between the union and Microsoft “has been ongoing throughout the entirety of negotiations,” saying, “Our hope is that this strike will create urgency at the bargaining table.”

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Images from the strike at ZeniMax’s office in Rockville, Maryland, courtesy of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas (via Communications Workers of America).

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(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )

(Image credit: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA member Jordan Duenas )