Workers at Bethesda Game Studios--the developers of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series--just announced that they've unionized "wall-to-wall". That means this isn't just confined to certain departments; it means a majority (241) of the studio’s workers have unionized.
Those 241 workers include everyone from artists to designers to engineers to programmers, and the union constitutes the first "wall-to-wall" organizing effort at any of Microsoft's game studios. Microsoft has already recognized the union while they work towards agreement on a first contract.
We, a majority of developers at Bethesda Game Studios Dallas, Rockville, and Austin, are ecstatic to announce the formation of our union with @CWAUnion. Together as #OneBGSUSA, we advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry.
— OneBGS_USA (@OneBGS_USA) July 19, 2024
The union encompasses workers at the studio's Maryland and Texas offices. Mandi Parker, a Senior System Designer at Bethesda and member of the Communications Workers of America (which the Bethesda workers are now a part of), says:
We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry. It is clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company as a whole
Johnny Brown, President of CWA Local 2108, says:
In a groundbreaking achievement, the dedicated professionals at Bethesda Game Studios have demonstrated that, no matter your job title, you too can benefit from having a union. Through securing a protected voice on the job, workers are taking a step forward to negotiating better working conditions, helping to raise standards across the industry. We are incredibly proud to welcome these workers into our union and are confident that together, we will secure a brighter future for all workers in the video game industry.
In addition to these American efforts, Bethesda's Canadian workers at their Montreal studio are also in the process of unionizing. They join the roughly 300 QA workers at Zenimax (also owned by Bethesda, and now in turn by Microsoft) who voted to unionize last year.
This rules.
