ZeniMax Workers United, a gaming union consisting of quality assurance workers from across the studios of Bethesda's parent company, is going on strike today over what it alleges to be excessive outsourcing of QA on parent company Microsoft's part.
As revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the union wants Microsoft to "meet [it] at the bargaining table over key issues like remote work options and outsourcing", demanding "job security and improved working conditions".
In an Inverse report, QA test lead Rhyanna Eichner says ZeniMax Workers United members are "all really looking forward to coming together and spending time together", and that "this is what needs to be done to move on".
Eichner also says that the union is striking over its parent company's remote work proposals, which she says are not good enough. She says Microsoft has "continually given us their first proposal again and again", and that it's obvious to her the union's "different mobilization tactics have not worked".
Senior QA tester Juniper Dowell adds that many employees would be forced to consider alternative employment if they were required to be at the office five days a week because they were hired under remote working conditions.
Dowell says that while striking "isn't fun or ideal", there's a "satisfaction in having a concrete physical action" to help the union and its members "fight for better work conditions". She's hoping that Microsoft and ZeniMax will "stop dragging their feet and meet us at the table".
ZeniMax's union isn't the only one to go on strike in recent months. Last week, employees at French studio Don't Nod went on strike following the announcement that almost 70 jobs at their studio could be at risk, with remote working policies also on the list of issues employees raised.
Gaming giant Ubisoft also faced a strike in October, again in part over remote working policies, as well as what the employees involved perceived to be inadequate salaries.
ZeniMax Workers United's strike will last a single day, running between 10am and 6pm local time. We'll have to wait and see whether Microsoft and ZeniMax pay enough attention for negotiations to truly begin.
