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The number of union members at Microsoft’s video game subsidiary continues to grow, and the latest group to join is the largest group to date. Activision’s approximately 600 quality assurance personnel Joined the Communications Workers of America Union (CWA), the largest certifying union in the U.S. video game industry. They were also the first Activision employees organized under the agreement between Microsoft and CWA. As you may recall, Microsoft announced that it would respect the right of Activision Blizzard employees to form a union as part of its efforts to gain regulatory approval for its $68.7 billion acquisition of the video game developer. I agreed.
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. said Microsoft kept its promise to let workers decide for themselves whether to unionize. Part of Microsoft’s commitments when it agreed to enter into an agreement with the CWA included taking a neutral approach during union campaigns, and the company did not allow the CWA to interfere or influence people’s votes. He said he would not give any.
Another element of the agreement is to give employees access to a “streamlined process, supported by innovative technology, for choosing whether to join a union,” which includes This includes eliminating the need to apply for elections to the relevant committees. In this case, workers simply had to sign a union recognition card or vote online.according to new york times, 390 workers voted in favor of unionizing, while eight opposed. About 200 more people did not vote.
Microsoft also authorized the formation of a union in early 2023 by Bethesda owner ZeniMax and 300 workers at ZeniMax, one of the video game industry’s largest video game subsidiaries at the time. These workers also formed a union under a simpler process made possible by the company’s agreement with his CWA. By the end of the year, Microsoft agreed to hire 77 temporary QA contractors as ZeniMax’s unionized full-time employees. This was a welcome victory for workers in an industry plagued by layoffs.