Von||Comment
The ZeniMax Workers United union was only founded last year and is now taking on Zenimax owner Microsoft directly - there is a strike and apparently not without good reason.
It's rumbling in the Zenimax box, parent company of Bethesda and all taken over by Microsoft for a few months. Hundreds of employees have gone on strike to protest Microsoft's decisions regarding outsourcing and telecommuting.
“Today we are on strike,” said a post on the union’s Twitter account. “We are not afraid to do what is necessary to ensure that Microsoft is at the table with us on important issues such as telecommuting options and outsourcing. We deserve job security and better working conditions. Hundreds of our members are striking today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Maryland and Texas to demand that Microsoft stop standing still.”
Union members and strikers are primarily targeting Microsoft's “unilateral decision” to outsource quality assurance. After Microsoft had already carried out heavy layoffs at its subsidiaries, there are now widespread fears that further jobs could be lost as a result of outsourcing. In addition, employees are resisting new orders to return to the office after Corona made working from home a given.
The union also complains that Microsoft has turned out to be very inflexible at the negotiating table. “They have presented us with their first proposal over and over again, and it has become obvious that our various mobilization tactics have not worked.” The union has now decided to take tougher measures. It remains to be seen whether Microsoft will give in now.
