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While CEOs got dressed up for the Game Awards, 461 workers at Zenimax Online Studios unionisedSneaky in the best way
Sneaky in the best way
Image credit:Zenimax
Image credit:Zenimax
Stealth launching a game during an awards ceremony is cool. But you know what’s cooler? Stealth launching a union. As many in the games industry settled in for an evening of advertisements and blockbuster backslapping, one group of US workers quietly succeeded in organising something of their own. Employees at Zenimax Online Studios launched their union with 461 members, as announcedon social media site Blueskylast night.
The members include engineers, artists, web developers, and game designers. Most of these workers are based in Maryland, say the union, but others are spread across the states, in California, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
“With a union, we are looking forward to collectively pushing for improvements to the workplace,” they say, “including job security, protections against AI, better pay and benefits – in an industry that we’re so deeply passionate about.”
Microsoft has officially recognised the union, but you should know that a labour agreement following the big fat Activision Blizzard acquisition last year essentially means that they do this because theyare required to do so. Which partly explains whyZenimax QA workershave also been able to recently unionise with perhaps more ease than a studio under another company.
The Zenimax Online union that arose last night has been formed under the Communication Workers of America, a parent union that has been organising workers across the states for some years now. Earlier this year that parent group also helped another band of Elder Scrolls developers at Bethesda Game Studios toform their own union too, consisting of 241 workers.
“We’re working against some pretty massive corporations,” a CWA organiser told Nic when hespoke to them recently about their organising campaign.“The imbalance of power is very obvious. So you try to organise in secret so that people can’t be totally derailed from exercising their rights before they even have a chance to understand those rights.”
I can think of no greater sneak attack than doing it as soon as Geoff Keighly gets up on stage. Nice work.
