More Game Workers at Microsoft's 'Blizzard' Join a Union (aftermath.site)
- Reference: 0178709626
- News link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/08/17/062255/more-game-workers-at-microsofts-blizzard-join-a-union
- Source link: https://aftermath.site/blizzard-union-story-franchise-cwa
[1]From the union's announcement :
> The Story and Franchise Development team is Blizzard's in-house cinematics, animation, and narrative team, producing the trailers, promotional videos, in-game cutscenes, and other narrative content for Blizzard franchises — as well as franchise archival workers and historians. These workers will be the first in-house cinematic, animation, and narrative studio to form a union in the North American game industry, joining nearly 3,000 workers at Microsoft-owned studios who have organized with CWA to build better standards across the video game industry after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023...
>
> The announcement is the latest update in organizing the tech and video game industry, as over 6,000 workers in the United States and Canada have organized with the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) since launching over five years ago. Last week, [2]workers at Raven Software secured a historic contract with Microsoft , joining [3]ZeniMax QA developers at CWA , who also secured a contract with the company in June.
"CWA says that Blizzard owner Microsoft has recognized the union," [4]reports the gaming news site Aftermath , in accordance with the [5]labor neutrality policy Microsoft agreed to in 2022, leading to several other union game studios at Microsoft:
> In July 2024, [6]500 workers on Blizzard-owned World of Warcraft formed a union that they called "the largest wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft-owned studio," alongside Blizzard QA workers in Austin. Other studios across Microsoft have also unionized in recent years, including [7]at Bethesda , [8]ZeniMax Online Studios , and ZeniMax QA, the latter of which finally [9]reached a contract in May after nearly two years of bargaining. Unionized workers at Raven Studios reached a [10]contract with Microsoft earlier this month .
The CWA's announcement this week included this quote from one organizing committee member (and a cinematic producer). "I'm excited that we have joined together in forming a union to protect my colleagues from things like misguided policies and instability as a result of layoffs."
[1] https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/blizzards-story-and-franchise-development-workers-form-latest-video-game-union
[2] https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/raven-software-workers-secure-first-contract-microsoft
[3] https://cwa-union.org/news/zenimax-workers-united-cwa-members-reach-historic-tentative-agreement-first-contract-0
[4] https://aftermath.site/blizzard-union-story-franchise-cwa
[5] https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/cwa-microsoft-announce-labor-neutrality-agreement
[6] https://aftermath.site/wow-activision-union-microsoft
[7] https://aftermath.site/bethesda-union-unionize-fallout-elder-scrolls-starfield
[8] https://aftermath.site/zenimax-online-studios-union
[9] https://aftermath.site/zenimax-union-contract
[10] https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/raven-software-workers-secure-first-contract-microsoft
Re:Why this spammy propaganda? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is socialism in the room with you now?
Boomers hear socialism and think North Korea or 1980s Romania. Young people hear socialism and see Europe and the Nordic countries where losing your job means you won’t go bankrupt from medical bills. Or having guaranteed vacation and sick time at work. You’re telling me America can’t use the massive wealth generated by the economy to make citizens lives better? The fact that the government built an internment camp in a month tells me all I need to know.
Re: (Score:2)
The white supremacist party is back, baby. An orange, blond wig wearing bull connor is prez. Except now it is reverse McCarthyism. No red scare, putin/russia red love! America's dignity is for sale in Alaska to the highest bidder. You just need a few million to invade other countries and let trump demand they give up all their land as repartitions for fighting back.
> “Cheers for the great Stalin!” “Long live Comrade Stalin!”
"Democratic Socialism" is not the same in USA (Score:2)
> Young people hear socialism and see Europe and the Nordic countries where ...
Where it's paid for by Oil and Natural Gas exports. Not reproducible. Not sustainable.
> ... You’re telling me America can’t use the massive wealth generated by the economy to make citizens lives better?
It has. There are some improvements to be made, but the current system has delivered and can be improved without communism. Which is really what "Democratic Socialism" in the USA is, just a rebranding. In reality its the same old marxist radicalism from the 1960s/70s radicals.
"Democratic Socialism" may be a petroleum based nanny state in a Nordic country, but that it not what it is in the USA.
Re:Why this spammy propaganda? (Score:4, Insightful)
> ... Every story seems to be pushing socialism or some big gay guy named Al.
Socialisms? You mean like our fire and police departments, our water, sewer and power grids, our public roads and public parks, our libraries and public schools, public airports, train stations and public transit, our military, garbage collection, public defenders, the coast guard, border services, public health workers, etc, etc., etc.
We couldn't survive without these socialisms. In fact, when we privatize public infrastructure, it never goes well for we the people. It does however let the rich get needlessly richer. Me, I'm just so tired of people using our societal progress as some kind of slur. Make no mistake, this is a smear campaign against our communities and against co-operation. These types of comments are made by the privileged who resent paying their fair share and need to put themselves above others. Just saying.
This is exactly what classists do, they're dismissive of anything that levels the playing field. Ask yourself, why would anybody resent that which enriches us all?
Re: (Score:2)
Where do you live that all of these are functions of the (presumably local) government? My water and sewer company (same company) is private, our power company is private, our garbage collection is private, airports, roads and school are a mix (the baseline service is public, but if you want faster/better you pay for private).
Re: (Score:2)
nice try, the fact is most places have public stuff, if you don't, I feel for you, maybe you live in Texas? or maybe you're trolling?
Most places have regulated private utilities (Score:2)
> nice try, the fact is most places have public stuff, if you don't, I feel for you, maybe you live in Texas? or maybe you're trolling?
You are mistaken. Most places in the USA have regulated private utilities to a large degree. My public utilities are the water and sewage. Regulated private are Electricity, Natural Gas, and Trash Collection. This has been true for multiple towns in two very liberal states, states that are Democratic strongholds.
1960s/70s radicals coopted "Democratic Socialism" (Score:2)
> Socialisms? You mean like our fire and police departments, our water, sewer and power grids, our public roads and public parks, our libraries and public schools, public airports, train stations and public transit, our military, garbage collection, public defenders, the coast guard, border services, public health workers, etc, etc., etc.
Ignoring the fact that some of that is regulated private utilities or private sector partnerships ... Which is sometimes the case in the EU as well.
These socialism's are quite different than the "Democratic Socialism" of the USA, which is quite different than European political parties of the same name. Basically, old time 1960s/70s radicals have co-opted the name "Democratic Socialism" in the USA to rebrand the marxist and maoist radicalism of the Vietnam era protest era. Think "Weather Underground" and
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot is a far left website. Most of its posters are far left. Of course it pushes socialism.
Re: (Score:2)
> Slashdot is a far left website. Most of its posters are far left. Of course it pushes socialism.
Source.
Name is meh. (Score:2)
A union? Couldn't they call it a horde or something?
Re: (Score:2)
for the union!!!
Microsoft's "Blizzard"? (Score:2)
Um, quotes..? Are they not really Blizzard?
No Morhaime, no Pearce, ... its not Blizzard (Score:2)
No Morhaime, no Pearce, ... it's not Blizzard. No disrespect to Adham, he was just not always present during Blizzard Classic.
When these founders ran the place, employees were treated better than union contracts would provide.
In unrelated news (Score:2)
AI department receives 200% budget increase