CWA Airline Agent’s Tragic Death on the Job and other news

Proletariat/Activision

Last week, a supermajority of workers at Activision Blizzard’s Proletariat studio announced that they are forming the Proletariat Workers Alliance/CWA and have filed for a union representation election with the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to filing for an election, the workers asked that management voluntarily recognize their union and respect their right to organize without retaliation or interference. The company has not said whether or not they will recognize the union. The Proletariat workers are the third group of Activision Blizzard workers to file for a union representation election with CWA. The 57 workers in the unit include animators, designers, engineers, producers, and quality assurance workers. Earlier this year, quality assurance workers at Activision’s Raven Software studio in Wisconsin and Blizzard Albany won their union elections, despite Activision Blizzard’s repeated attempts to prevent workers from voting. Read more here.

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ZeniMax/Microsoft

More than 300 Quality Assurance (QA) workers at ZeniMax Media, a video game maker owned by Microsoft, have secured union representation after a supermajority indicated that they wish to join ZeniMax Workers United/CWA either by signing a union authorization card or voting via an online portal. Microsoft honored its stated labor principles and immediately recognized the union after the results were certified by an independent arbitrator.

ZeniMax Workers United/CWA is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and the largest group of union-represented QA testers at any U.S. game studio. The unit includes all QA employees in the U.S. across ZeniMax’s various studios. The workers have been organizing for months to positively transform ZeniMax for the benefit of workers, the company, and the players who enjoy the studios’ games. In an industry that is dominated by companies who are set on preventing their workers from joining unions, the successful organizing of the ZeniMax workers and Microsoft’s swift recognition of their union shows what is possible when big tech corporations respect their workers’ rights and allow them to freely form a union and improve their workplaces. Read more here.

Last Saturday, CWA Local 3645 member Courtney Edwards, a ground handling agent for Piedmont Airlines, died as a result of an on-the-job accident at the Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) in Alabama. CWA staff and leaders, including Local 3645 President Donielle Prophete, are coordinating closely with the agencies investigating the incident, as well as the airline and the airport. Courtney was a loving mother of three children and a wonderful daughter to her beloved mother, Natalie English of Montgomery, Ala.

“The news of this terrible tragedy was heartbreaking. Courtney was a valued member of her team and our union. She was away from her family working on New Year’s Eve making sure passengers got to where they needed to be for the holidays. She represents the very best of our CWA airport members, who constantly make sacrifices to serve the flying public. Her memory will live on in the hearts and minds of her fellow CWA members and those closest to her. Our staff and local leaders are on the ground coordinating with the relevant agencies as the investigation continues. We are doing as much as we can to provide support for her family and loved ones during this most tragic time,” said Richard Honeycutt, Vice President of CWA District 3 and Chair of CWA’s Passenger Service Airline Council.

While the investigation is ongoing, a fundraising page has been set up to help support her family, including her three children.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Workers at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, members of the Fort Worth NewsGuild (TNG-CWA Local 39213), ended their strike after 24 days. The workers went on an unfair labor practice strike because of the company’s continued refusal to bargain in good faith. They made history as the first media workers in Texas, and the first at a newspaper owned by McClatchy, to strike. They ended their strike two weeks ago after the company began to engage in good faith bargaining by making movement towards meeting the workers’ demands for livable wages, proper parental leave, and other policies. During the strike, the workers picketed, wrote letters, spoke at local groups, and bargained for over 20 hours. The workers also received overwhelming community support. They return from this strike more empowered than ever to fight for better working conditions for all current and future journalists.

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