Microsoft workers organize

Rockville, MD – A supermajority of quality assurance workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios have indicated January 2 that they wish to join ZeniMax Workers United/CWA, either by signing a union authorization card or voting via an online portal. In accordance with its stated labor principles, Microsoft has recognized the union.

ZeniMax is a video game production company with studios in Maryland and Texas known for its popular games such as Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake Champions and Fallout. ZeniMax Workers United/CWA is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and the largest group of union-represented quality assurance testers at any U.S. game studio.

Quality assurance workers across ZeniMax have been organizing for months to positively transform ZeniMax for the benefit of workers, the company, and the players who enjoy its games. Workers began signing union authorization cards in November 2022 and started the official voting process through a confidential online portal that opened on Friday, December 2 and closed on December 31. The unit includes all quality assurance employees in the U.S. across ZeniMax’s various studios.

“It’s difficult to express in words just how much winning our union matters to us. We’ve been working so hard to get here that it would be impossible not to be excited. We know this is not the end of our hard work, but reaching this milestone gives us faith that when workers stand together, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to,” said Dylan Burton, a senior quality assurance tester in Dallas.