By The Verge | Created at 2025-04-01 17:13:06 | Updated at 2025-04-02 20:36:41
1 day ago
Ash Parrish is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities.
Members of ZeniMax Workers United, a union of over 300 quality assurance workers in Texas and Maryland, have voted to authorize a strike.
The vote, which passed with over 94 percent in favor of authorization, does not mean workers have gone on strike like SAG-AFTRA members have in the ongoing video game voice actors strike. But should contract negotiations break down, the ZeniMax union now has the permission to call a strike.
This authorization comes as contract negotiations between union members and parent company Microsoft continue into a second year.
The strike authorization is the latest escalation between the union and management. Last year, ZeniMax Workers United participated in a one-day strike claiming that Microsoft did not adequately address employee concerns over its return to office policies and its outsourcing practices. Those concerns have come up again in negotiations alongside better pay and benefits.
“Our in-house contractors have been working on minimal wages with no benefits, including no paid sick time,” said associate QA tester Aubrey Litchfield in the press release announcing the strike authorization. “Workers are choosing not to start families because of the uncertainty of finances. We’ve released multiple titles while working fully remote. When will enough be enough?”
The Verge has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
ZeniMax Workers United is one of several unions under the Microsoft umbrella. It formed in 2023 and was once the largest union within the company with 300 members before Activision Quality Assurance United organized roughly 600 quality assurance workers last year.
At GDC 2025, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced the launch of the United Videogame Workers, a nationwide direct-join union open to any worker in the video game industry.
