Xbox faces hundreds of striking employees as union at Bethesda parent ZeniMax stages a walkout to “tell Microsoft to stop dragging their feet”

Hundreds of members of ZeniMax Workers United, the Communication Workers of America union formed at Bethesda’s parent company last year, are striking to protest Microsoft‘s decisions on outsourcing and remote work. 

“Today, we are on strike,” a post from the union’s Twitter account reads. “We are not afraid to do what’s necessary to make sure that Microsoft meets us at the bargaining table over key issues like remote work options and outsourcing. We deserve job security and improved working conditions. Hundreds of our members are striking from 10 – 6pm  in Maryland and Texas today to tell Microsoft to stop dragging their feet.” 

As Eurogamer reports, union members and walkout participants have set their sights on Microsoft’s “unilateral decision” to outsource quality assurance work, arguing that this further endangers jobs after Microsoft Gaming collectively laid off thousands of employees. Separately, employees skewered an apparent return-to-office mandate, just as other devs and unions have in the past, most notably the Activision Blizzard union which is now also under Microsoft’s umbrella after it gobbled up the company. 

Signs held by striking ZeniMax employees feature messages like “Microsoft Runs on  Trust Outsourcing,” “Remote Works – RTO has got to go,” and “Microsoft Hire Our Contractors.” A special shoutout to the handwritten sign reading, “outsourcing threatens my job security.” 

“I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a fun event,” quality assurance test lead Rhyanna Eichner told Inverse before the strike “I know that sounds weird, but we’re all really looking forward to coming together and spending time together. Everybody understands that this needs to happen. This is what needs to be done to move on. We’re all just kind of ready for it.” 

“They have continually given us their first proposal again and again, and it’s become obvious that our different mobilization tactics have not worked,” Eichner added, alluding to the slow or stalled progress on these issues at the bargaining table. 

After cutting 2,500 jobs in under one year, Phil Spencer says he feels good about the industry and that “the Xbox business has never been more healthy.”