- Microsoft Corp MSFT looked to voluntarily acknowledge a union of 300 videogame testers at subsidiary ZeniMax Studios if they vote to unionize.
- It marked a first for the company in the U.S., the Communication Workers of America union (CWA) said, Reuters reports.
- ZeniMax employees at four locations in Maryland and Texas began voting through an online platform.
- Also Read: Amazon Gets Another Breather As Workers Dump NY Union
- ZeniMax owns significant game franchises, including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
- Microsoft, in June, agreed with the CWA to remain neutral in union organizing campaigns at Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI, which Microsoft sought to purchase for $69 billion.
- Microsoft President Brad Smith recently expressed the company's support for employee unionization.
- Smith acknowledged the legal right of employees to form or join a union as he saw it futile to resist lawful efforts to participate in activities like unionization.
- Game testers at Activision units Blizzard Albany and Raven Software voted this year for unionization.
- Blizzard Albany has developed installments of popular video game franchises, including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
- The NLRB accused Activision of violating federal labor law by threatening retaliation against workers who use social media to discuss working conditions.
- Price Action: MSFT shares traded higher by 0.08% at $250.40 premarket on the last check Tuesday.
- Photo by Use at your Ease from Pixabay
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