Hundreds of workers from Bethesda have filed a complaint against parent company ZeniMax in October and are now joining a strike to protest new policies.
The policies mainly revolve around remote work and sourcing and the complaint was designed to try and encourage Microsoft to enter negotiations. The workers are part of the second-largest video games union in the U.S.
Bethesda Workers Plan Strike
ZeniMax Workers United - CWA was first formed in January last year and has more than 300 quality assurance workers. The union noted that ZeniMax workers are currently being required to physically be in the office two times a week.
However, it has claimed that many of the staff members were being denied their requests for remote work.
Furthermore, the union is looking to limit the percentage of quality assurance testers that ZeniMax outsources in comparison to the number of full-time workers present in its bargaining unit.
The situation comes as Xbox cut more than 2,500 jobs and shut down four Bethesda game development studios. This came after the massive $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, according to the Video Games Chronicles.
This is as Microsoing gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a recent interview that the Xbox business has never been "more healthy."
He added that Xbix is still open to more acquisitions in the future and is not ruling out bringing any first-party games to other console platforms.
The Communication Workers of America (CWA) was the one that shared the news about the planned strike in a press release. It also explained that it would be held at ZeniMax locations in both Maryland and Texas.
Failed Negotiations
The workers involved in the strike are trying to take the parent company to task for a perceived lack of progress at the bargaining table. This is where they discuss the policies that are being questioned, Game Developer said.
The upcoming strike comes a month after the CWA filed an unfair labor practice charge against ZeniMax for supposedly contracting out work without notification.
It said that the efforts threatened job security for workers amid record layoffs throughout the video games industry.
ZeniMax Workers United - CWA was the first union to form under the Microsoft banner following 300 quality assurance workers voting to organize in January last year. The latest strike comes after a similar effort was conducted last month.
That was when workers from Activision's QA department in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, decided to walk out in protest against new return-to-office mandates.
It was claimed that the firm refused workers accommodations as a way to force them to quit their jobs, according to Games Industry.
