Bethesda Game Studios Montreal filed to have its workers unionize with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The effort was announced by the BGS Montreal union in a thread on social media, confirming that they filed for certification with the Quebec Labour Board. The post wrote that as a union, they will strive to make BGS a supportive workplace that would foster creativity and talent.
Bethesda Game Studios Montreal Files for Unionization
(Photo : Bethesda Game Studios / Screenshot taken from official Facebook account)
It added that unionizing would allow them to continue creating some of the best video games in the industry in the jobs and studios that they all love. The post argued that having a seat at the table will ensure job security as well as improve transparency, accountability, flexibility, and more.
The studio said that its goal with the latest efforts is to make sure that everyone receives fair compensation for their work and the value that they provide. If the application is approved, it will make BGS Montreal the second ZeniMax studio to unionize, according to the Games Industry.
In January last year, ZeniMax QA workers formed ZeniMax Workers United and a majority of 300 employees across ZeniMax's U.S. operations voted in favor of unionization. The CWA last month announced that all ZeniMax studio workers were covered by Microsoft's labor neutrality agreement.
This is something that both parties entered into in 2022 and means that the firm is legally bound to take a neutral stance on unionization. The development comes as the CWA has already assisted several of Microsoft's studios with their unionization efforts.
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These include Activision Quality Assurance United, which is a union that has roughly 600 quality assurance workers at Activision Blizzard. The others are at subsidiaries such as Raven Software, Blizzard Albany, and ZeniMax Studios.
The CWA's labor neutrality agreement with Microsoft means that Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax workers can organize without "interference and intimidation from management," said GameDeveloper.
Uniting Under One Banner
BGS Montreal also said that as one of the first game developers unions, they are hoping to inspire many others to do the same and join forces amid this new era of the industry. It said that every game worker deserves a union and all of them deserve their voice to be heard.
It is believed that forming under the One BGS MTL banner will allow every single union member to participate in collective decision-making. This is so that they can push for the "changes that reflect the needs and the wants of all developers."
The ones who are involved with the unionization push have all called for support as they navigate the process. The development comes as BGS Montreal was first announced to open in late 2015.
At the time, the studio head for the branch was Yves Lachance, who had previously worked under Behavior Interactive, which is another video game studio that is also based in Montreal. The latter is best for Dead by Daylight, an asymmetrical horror game.
BGS Montreal's decision to unionize comes amid a tumultuous time in the video game industry where mass layoffs have been happening left and right. It also marks a sharp rise in the number of unions which were previously scarce, according to IGN.
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