CODE-CWA

3 years later... they won Call of Duty Workers Win 3-Year Battle For Microsoft Union Contract, Worker Goes On The Record For The First Time

NEW: Call of Duty workers just voted to ratify their first union contract with Microsoft, marking the end of nearly 3 years of negotiations. The two bargaining members speak to me about everything that went into it, and where they go from here. shannonliao.substack.com/p/3-years-la...

Raven Software Workers Secure First Contract at Microsoft The contract builds on the recent organizing momentum by Microsoft video game workers organizing with CWA to raise standards across the video game industry.

In 2022, Raven Software workers became the first unit at Activision Blizzard to form a union.

Now, they've secured a first contract ensuring wage increases and the elimination of mandatory crunch. #unionstrong 💪

Hear from some of our members about why we started organizing with the Alphabet Workers Union! Why do you organize with AWU?

Ready to join us? Visit go.awu.fyi/join today!

Our @condeunion.bsky.social members have real questions about the future of the company and multiple issues that directly affect them. Instead of answering even one question,
Conde Nast execs decided to instead play games - literally - during the meeting. Truly disgraceful

PANEL It's Dangerous To Go Alone: The Road To Our Union Giselle Francis (She/Her) Carolyn Jong (She/Her) Roland Quiros (He/Him) James F. Wright (He/Him) While the game industry attracts talented, passionate workers the world over, it's notorious for rewarding those workers with low wages, long hours, and layoffs. But workers have been changing this with their collective power, often led by the most vulnerable, including developers of color. In this panel, we'll hear from labor organizers about their experiences making this industry do better by them and their fellow workers. We'll explore what led them to organize, the victories, the defeats, the comebacks, and how they navigated spaces that were not built with them in mind.

Attending @gdocexpo.com? A few of our organizers will be hosting a panel about their experiences. See you there! ❤️

EXECUTIVE PAYWATCH YOUR CEO MADE 285 TIMES WHAT YOU DID IN 2024 LEARN MORE: AFLCIO.ORG/PAYWATCH

It’s way past time working people got their fair share. We don’t have to settle for an economy where top corporate CEOs make 285 times what their median workers make. aflcio.org/Paywatch

Did you know that unionizing the games industry could standardize game crediting? If you worked on a game, you deserve to be properly credited.

CWA Next Generation 101: Learn what we're about and how to get involved New to the union or just curious about our program for young members? Want to plug into a network of young CWA activists and mentors fighting for justice on the job and beyond? Come to CWA Next Gen ...

Are you new to the union—or just curious about CWA Next Generation?

Come to CWA Next Gen 101, a short, informal Zoom session where you’ll meet young CWA activists as well as experienced mentors from across the country, find out what we’re all about, and learn how to get involved.

Contact an Organizer and Let's Organize! Use this form to contact a CODE-CWA organizer.

👀💪 code-cwa.org/organize

A graphic that says, "Join our rally to hold Stan Sherrill and Wells Fargo accountable."

Tomorrow: Join us for a rally in Charlotte, NC to hold Wells Fargo accountable for union busting!

Let us know you'll be there: CWA.org/wfwuJuly15

RALLY TODAY: Come join us TODAY at noon outside NY City Hall to help us “Defend the Daily News.”

First part of the ZeniMax Online Studio United-CWA statement that reads, Earlier this month, Microsoft indefinitely shelved an unannounced MMORPG at ZeniMax Online Studios, a shock to the 222 ZOSU-CWA developers working on the project. It has been heartening and validating to see our game mentioned in the press and by players that would have loved to see the results of our work. Undoubtedly, a future has been stolen from many of us and our community will never experience an amazing game. However, despite discussions regarding the status of our employment, the fact is: we have not yet been laid off. While we understand that for most of us something like a layoff is inevitable, last December both the teams behind The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and the unannounced project voted overwhelmingly to form a union and establish ZeniMax Online Studios United-CWA (ZOSU-CWA). Worker-volunteers elected to represent the interests of our union are currently bargaining with Microsoft for the benefit of our impacted teammates. While Microsoft and ZOSU-CWA bargain over how we move forward following the project closure, the developers behind the unannounced project remain employees of ZeniMax Online Studios with full pay and benefits.

Second part of the ZeniMax Online Studio United-CWA statement that reads: On July 2nd, our lives were upended without prior notice or communication from Microsoft leadership and without clear understanding about the status of our employment. In light of this, our union came together with urgency, gathering and distributing information and resources to our affected members. Where Microsoft has failed to support the talented craftspeople who have generated billions in revenue, our union has stepped up to provide clarity and support. It is true that a layoff may be in the future for some of our members. However, as a result of our organizing, we are able to ensure that those impacted will be able to depart with dignity. More importantly, the work of ZOSU-CWA will continue so that our remaining teammates — the stalwart developers of ESO — can follow in the footsteps of our colleagues across other departments and studios at Microsoft, including our union siblings at ZeniMax Workers United (ZWU-CWA). We look forward to other units who will soon ratify fair contracts that will guarantee the rights we all deserve. In solidarity, ZeniMax Online Studios United-CWA (ZOSU-CWA)

On July 2nd, Microsoft announced they were shelving an unannounced project at ZOS, a shock to over 200 of our devs working on the project.

However, despite discussions regarding the status of our employment, the fact is: we have not yet been laid off.

Our full statement can be found below.

ZeniMax Union Responds to Microsoft Canceling Unannounced MMO: 'A Future Has Been Stolen From Us' - IGN Following a wave of mass layoffs that impacted an estimated 9,100 employees at Microsoft, many of whom were in its Xbox gaming division, the union of employees at Xbox subsidiary ZeniMax have responde...

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www.ign.com/articles/zen...

TODAY: PEN Guild heads to arbitration over POLITICO’s contract-breaking use of AI. This fight could set the standard for how AI is used in newsrooms across the country.

✍️ Sign our petition and help us go into arbitration with full support: bit.ly/PENGuild

Several games preservation projects are in limbo now that their grants have been rescinded. Preservation is a crucial issue facing the industry right now — and without funding, some of these projects are at risk.

Solidarity with SAG-AFTRA video game workers!

AFL-CIO TV | AFL-CIO Watch the livestream events and videos on the issues that matter to working people.

Working people are tired of seeing the rich get billions in tax breaks while politicians raise our costs, cut our jobs and take away our essential services. Join America’s unions on the road as we fight for a fair economy that works for working people.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that they intend to lay off about 9,000 employees across the company, including from its Microsoft Gaming division, and to stop production on several games. The layoffs are expected to impact Communications Workers of America-represented employees at the company. “We are deeply disappointed in Microsoft’s decision to lay off thousands more workers, including union-represented CWA members, at a time when the company is prospering,” said Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr. “We will be bargaining with the company over these layoffs, and CWA District Vice Presidents Mike Davis and Derrick Osobase will remain directly involved in ensuring that our members are supported and treated with dignity throughout this process.” Workers in the video game industry have been under constant threat of layoffs, with Electronic Arts, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity Technologies, and countless others scaling back their workforces in recent months. These layoffs are often announced without warning, leaving workers who create the products responsible for the companies’ successes scrambling to survive while executives and investors reap the benefits of record-breaking profits. “Right now, we are living through a moment of profound corporate consolidation and disruption,” Cummings said. “In times like these, union organizing is not just a tool for protections in the workplace; it is essential to workers’ survival, and one of the strongest defenses we have against unchecked corporate power. This news will not slow the movement for a video game industry that works for those who make it what it is today. Our strength is in our unity.”

Read our full statement below.

We’re Done Playing Video game workers strike back. Over the last few years, game workers have been struck by unprecedented mass layoffs, driven by corporate greed and short-term profit seeking. While employers treat us...

Mass layoffs affecting thousands of workers. Cancelled development cycles sweeping years of hard work under the rug.

We have seen time and again how little the worker matters to corporate leadership.

🪶 Sign & share the first step for change:
actionnetwork.org/forms/were-d...

"This news will not slow the movement for a video game industry that works for those who make it what it is today. Our strength is in our unity.”

“In times like these, union organizing is not just a tool for protections in the workplace; it is essential to workers’ survival, and one of the strongest defenses we have against unchecked corporate power," said President Claude Cummings Jr.

These layoffs are often announced without warning, leaving workers who create the products responsible for the companies’ successes scrambling to survive while executives and investors reap the benefits of record-breaking profits.

Workers in the video game industry have been under constant threat of layoffs, with Electronic Arts, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity Technologies, and countless others scaling back their workforces in recent months.

The layoffs are expected to impact Communications Workers of America-represented employees at the company.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that they intend to lay off about 9,000 employees across the company, including from its Microsoft Gaming division, and to stop production on several games.

CWA Statement on Layoffs at Microsoft We are deeply disappointed in Microsoft’s decision to lay off thousands more workers, including union-represented CWA members, at a time when the company is prospering.

Please read our statement below regarding yesterday's layoffs at Microsoft. cwa-union.org/news/release...

a photo of a big group of Alphabet Workers Union members on the West Coast wearing their red union tshirts and raising their fists.

a photo of a big group of Alphabet Workers Union members on the East Coast wearing their red union tshirts and raising their fists.

Something magical happens when AWU members get together to discuss the important work of building our union. Our members showed up to our 2025 Leadership Summits, our annual weekend-long organizer training, ready to immerse ourselves in reflection, skill-building, and strategizing for the future!

Change for Games: WE are the games industry! As thousands convene for the Games for Change conference in NYC, UVW-CWA invites all workers in the the videogame industry to talk about the change we need today as workers, and what we win when we or...

Happening now! 💪 actionnetwork.org/events/chang...

Understanding Trump's Latest Attack on Federal Unions and Workers' Rights — Congressional Progressive Caucus Center

Buried in the federal budget bill is a dangerous provision that would prevent states from regulating AI.

This is a reckless giveaway to Big Tech that will have far-reaching consequences for economic fairness, worker power, & public trust.

Read more: www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/how-banning-...

Please reply to UVW’s skeet with what you’d like to see represented in the Game Workers’ Bill of Rights! We want to hear from you!