Rock And Earthquake id Software is now home to a “wall-to-wall” union, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The organization announced that a group of 165 id employees just voted to unionize, joining the ranks of 300 ZeniMax quality control employees who joined the union back in 2023.
According to a CWA press release, Microsoft has already recognized this latest union, which includes “developers, artists, programmers and more,” according to labor neutrality agreement both sides agreed in 2022.
“The overall organizational work at id Software was very necessary; It's incredibly important that developers across the industry come together to fight back against all the unilateral workplace changes being introduced by industry leaders,” said id Software producer and CWA organizing committee member Andrew Willis.
Meanwhile, id's lead service programmer and CWA committee member Chris Hayes specifically cited remote staff not being dragged into the office as a reason for the push for representation. “Remote work is not a privilege,” he said. “This is necessary for our health, our families and our access needs. RTO policies should not be passed down by leaders without considering affordability or our well-being.”
The CWA message also states: “mass layoffs in industrysudden periods of crisis and unfair pay” as part of the impetus for a broader unionization movement among developers across the industry this year, adding that the total number of union members in the entire Microsoft fiefdom is now “nearly 4,000.”
CWA President Ron Swaggerty added that the union “looks forward to sitting down with Microsoft and negotiating a contract that reflects the skills, creativity and dedication these workers bring to every project.”
If you want to learn more about CWA's unionization efforts as lawsuits from the gaming industry and wealthy individuals continue to mount, quit developers from windows with depressing regularity they give this interview was given by Nick reading.
Meanwhile, members of the “General Industry Union” CWA announced earlier this year held a protest outside The Game Awards, which aimed to “celebrate shuttered video games and studios, and condemn creativity stifled by corporate greed and studio executives.”
Solidarity with these id Software workers.
