All articles tagged with #union
Musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra voted to authorize the ensemble’s first strike in its 145-year history as contract talks with management continue, potentially disrupting upcoming performances while a resolution is pursued.
Double Fine is officially independent from Microsoft, reclaiming IP ownership and signaling a new phase with publishing rights returning to Compulsion. Tim Schafer outlined a Kickstarter-backed Amnesia Fortnight and a live, backer-driven game jam to prototype new ideas. However, the studio laid off 23 employees, and the prior union push appears withdrawn with little update, leaving the studio’s long-term future uncertain as it seeks new deals.
GTA VI enters launch week amid leaks and labor drama: after Rockstar fired over 30 workers who later helped form a union, a hacker group published purported gameplay footage; the IWGB asks fans not to boycott but to support workers’ rights, while critics argue that pre-release hype and secrecy fuels a dysfunctional industry, signaling a chaotic rollout rather than a smooth launch.
A car-versus-UTV crash in Dubuque County left a 10-year-old student and Joshua Tack, the principal of the BCLUW Community School District, dead; six others were seriously injured and transported to the hospital, with Tack later dying from his injuries. The incident occurred at the intersection of East Worthington Road and Comer Road and remains under investigation.
The High Line Hotel in Chelsea tested positive for Legionella, with an initial 170 cfu/ml reading later rising to 700 cfu/ml after remediation. The Hotel & Gaming Trades Council says management resisted proof of remediation and threatened discipline against workers who tried to warn guests, while staff wore N95 masks and guests reportedly received little, if any, notice or refunds. The issue ties to NYC’s broader Legionnaires’ outbreak linked to cooling towers, and the hotel’s operator, MCR, has a history of cooling-tower violations across its New York properties. The city Health Department said it acted to ensure safety and that guests can continue using building systems; NYC has 92 confirmed Legionella cases and seven deaths so far this year.
UNITE HERE Local 11 filed a Cal/OSHA complaint alleging unsanitary and unsafe conditions at Flying Food Group’s LAX catering facility that supplies meals for numerous airlines, including moldy and decomposing food, maggots and cockroaches, poor soap/paper-towel availability, and oppressive heat; the union and city officials are pressing for an expedited on-site inspection as investigations continue.
Alphabet workers, led by the Alphabet Workers Union, delivered a petition with over 4,500 signatures to CEO Sundar Pichai calling for guaranteed severance, pre‑layoff buyouts, and extended paid leave, and asking to end quota‑based performance ratings. They argue that Google’s AI investments and recent job cuts — amid a broader tech industry trend — heighten the need for job protections even as profits soar.
Hundreds of Bethesda Game Studios and Zenimax Online Studios employees and supporters gathered outside Zenimax’s Rockville headquarters to protest sweeping Xbox layoffs, calling on Microsoft to return to contract bargaining with remaining uncontracted workers and to halt what organizers describe as a “perpetual cycle” of job cuts. Speakers and attendees stressed the importance of experienced developers for major franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, while union organizers and local officials urged fair treatment and ongoing negotiations with the company.
Unionized Bethesda Game Studios workers plan protests outside studios in Montreal, Austin, Dallas, and Rockville after layoffs of about 440 employees across BGS and ZeniMax; the CWA-affiliated Bethesda Game Studios Union says Microsoft must negotiate through effects bargaining and will push for preferential transfers to open Xbox/Microsoft roles, extended severance and healthcare, and recall rights to rehire laid-off staff when projects expand; protests scheduled for July 15.
Hundreds of Communications Workers of America members are affected by Xbox’s mass layoffs during Microsoft’s restructuring, with about 3,200 jobs cut and five internal studios divested; the CWA says it will take all necessary legal action to secure severance, open-role placement, and recall rights, and has launched a hardship fund with the United Videogame Workers, while Xbox CEO Asha Sharma blames overextension for the cuts.
Bethesda Game Studios staff reportedly had a small 'Celebration of Service' memorial for laid-off colleagues removed by HR in Rockville, amid broader Xbox layoffs and ongoing union negotiations.
Rockstar Games employees and members of the Rockstar Games Workers Union allege opaque pay practices, a widening gender pay gap, and a culture of crunch baked into UK contracts, with discretionary bonuses and unstable promotions. They say overtime is incentivized rather than regulated and remote-work concessions are being rolled back, while unionization efforts push for voluntary recognition; Take-Two says it offers competitive pay and is open to dialogue.
UK Rockstar Games workers, backed by the IWGB Game Workers Union, are pursuing official recognition ahead of GTA VI’s release to secure formal bargaining rights after last year’s mass layoffs; if voluntary recognition falters, more organizing or a strike could occur, while the union fights the dismissals in an employment tribunal and Rockstar says the terminations were for sharing confidential information and not tied to union activity. ZA/UM previously became the first UK studio to win recognition in Oct 2025, signaling growing union momentum in the industry.
At a June 29 press conference, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and over 3,500 Xbox workers across studios shared experiences and called for real layoff protections—advance notice, hiring freezes to prioritize internal transfers, and fair severance—as reports of mass layoffs loom. The event highlighted ongoing union organizing within Microsoft’s Xbox division and a commitment to bargaining with leadership if more cuts are announced, signaling that workers will not be treated as disposable even as the company pursues AI investments and a broader strategic reset.
CWA-represented workers at Microsoft's Xbox division criticized management amid reports of broad layoffs and potential studio closures. The union, now representing over 3,500 Microsoft employees, demands advance notice, strong severance for both direct and contracted staff, two-year recall rights, voluntary separation options, and open-role transfers, arguing layoffs should be a last resort. Executives’ AI investments and recent console price hikes are cited as factors; Microsoft says it respects workers’ voices and continues good‑faith negotiations with the CWA, while outlining potential impacts across studios like Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Raven Software.