The Communication Employees of America union introduced in the present day that bargaining members of ZeniMax Media — the mother or father firm of Bethesda and, due to a $69 billion acquisition, a subsidiary of Microsoft — have voted to authorize a strike in opposition to Microsoft. In response to the CWA, this comes after over a 12 months of failed negotiations for a primary contract between the 2.
ZeniMax Employees United-CWA voted 94% for its leaders to authorize the strike, saying that Microsoft has didn’t safe a contract with them after almost two years of negotiations. They’ve been bargaining for “higher wages, office enhancements, and key issues, together with an absence of distant work choices and the corporate’s substitute of in-house high quality assurance work with outsourced labor with out notifying the union.”
The CWA has beforehand filed an unfair labor apply cost in opposition to Microsoft. It additionally organized one-day strikes, the place ZeniMax Employees United members walked out of the corporate’s places of work in Maryland and Texas. The union issued a press release on the time saying, “We aren’t afraid to do what’s essential to be sure that Microsoft meets us on the bargaining desk over key points like distant work choices and outsourcing.”
Union member and affiliate QA tester Aubrey Litchfield stated in a press release, “Paying your staff a livable wage as a multi-trillion-dollar firm is the least they might be doing; nevertheless, when addressed on the bargaining desk, Microsoft acts as if we’re asking for an excessive amount of. Our in-house contractors have been engaged on minimal wages with no advantages, together with no paid sick time. Employees are selecting to not begin households due to the uncertainty of funds.”
A Microsoft spokesperson stated in a press release to The Verge, “We respect the workforce’s proper to specific their viewpoints and are deeply dedicated to reaching a good and equitable decision that acknowledges the groups’ contributions. There was substantial progress over the course of the negotiations, reaching tentative agreements on a majority of the subjects on the desk.”
