ZeniMax Workers United-CWA continues to blaze a trail for workers in the U.S. video game industry. In the course of bargaining an unprecedented union contract at Microsoft subsidiary ZeniMax, 376 members of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA have won a tentative agreement to govern the company’s adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace that will ensure that workers have a say in how AI impacts their work.

“Coming to this agreement was a high priority for us. It’s hard to say how developments with AI may impact our work, but now we can be more confident that the agreement will help to protect us as we navigate the potential adoption of AI into our workflow. It is crucial that all workers have a voice in what role AI plays in their work and can hold their employers accountable for the impacts of its use. This agreement empowers us to shape the ways we may choose to use AI in our work and also gives us the means to address those impacts before their potential implementation,” said Dylan Burton, Senior Quality Assurance Tester and member of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA.

Read more here and here.

Tender Claws Human Union-CWA members have won the first union contract for video game developers in the United States! The agreement includes improvements like wage increases, new benefits, and codifying LGBTQIA+ inclusive benefits. The workers voted unanimously to ratify the agreement. 

“We are so incredibly proud to have reached the end of this process,” said Robin LoBuglio, a game developer at Tender Claws. “Tender Claws workers have always taken care of each other. I am deeply grateful for my many amazing colleagues who worked hard to make this historic contract happen.”

Read more here.

Are you an employee of the digital, tech and/or game industry and ready to get involved in the broader fight for dignity and respect at work?

Join CODE-CWA in building power across the industry!

Join us on Saturday, January 13 or Sunday, January 28 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET for an introduction to unions and organizing conversations training. All levels of experience are welcome and encouraged!

Join us on Saturday, January 20 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET for a building the organizing committee training, where we talk about how to build a strong organizing committee. 

Check the CODE-CWA organizer training program for even more upcoming trainings!

2023 was a powerful year for workers fighting back against injustice in the workplace. We saw a wave of high-profile strikes that resulted in big gains for workers and organizing wins across the country. Read more here.

When workers organize, we win. We will keep up the fight in 2024 and beyond! 

Two weeks ago, more than 750 Washington Post employees walked out on a one-day strike to demand the company bargain in good faith. The Post is still demanding concessions from workers. Follow @PostGuild on Twitter for the latest updates. 

Last week, workers at Law360 walked out on a one-day strike to demand management bargain in good faith. Read more about the Law360 strike here. 

Grindr workers have continued to organize in the face of relentless, unlawful union-busting. Last week, Grindr workers voted in their election to join CWA. The count was 19-13 in favor of the union.

There are ballots that are being challenged on both sides, so the result is not final, but workers ultimately expect their victory will stand as the proceedings continue to shake out. Read more here. 

Last week, federal call center workers, along with CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. and Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam, were arrested during a protest demanding that the Biden Administration back up its commitment to good jobs with concrete action.

The workers, who handle Medicare and Affordable Care Act calls for Maximus, the federal government’s largest call center contractor, traveled from across the country to distribute leaflets outside of the White House and to rally and protest at the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C. Read more here. 

December 15, 1967 – The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone age 40 or older.

December 16, 1951 – The Bagel Bakers of America union continued a work slowdown at 32 of New York’s 34 bagel bakeries in a dispute over health and welfare fund payments and workplace sanitation. Coincidentally—or not—lox sales were down 30 percent to 50 percent as well. The effect on the cream cheese market was not reported.

December 16, 1977 – Eight female bank tellers in Willmar, Minn., begin the first strike against a bank in U.S. history. At issue: they were paid little more than half what male tellers were paid. The strike ended in a moral victory but an economic defeat two years later.

Source.

All You Fascists Bound To Lose by Resistance Revival Chorus with Rhiannon Gidden

I'm gonna tell you fascists
Sure might may be surprised
There's people in this world
And we're getting organized

You bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose
All you fascists bound to lose
All you fascists bound to lose
All you fascists bound to lose
You're bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose

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Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC.