World of Warcraft workers have voted to unionize the popular video-game franchise, expanding organized labor’s new foothold at Microsoft Corp. by around 500 employees.
An arbitrator overseeing an election at the company determined that a majority of the Warcraft team’s employees have supported the Communications Workers of America, the union said.
Their organizing effort, which brings the number of unionized US gaming employees at Microsoft to around 1,750, was buoyed by the company’s unusually union-friendly stance. The new bargaining unit, which includes artists, designers, engineers, producers and quality assurance testers, could help spur more organizing at the company.
“It’s exciting to potentially raise the standards of the entire industry as siblings in organizing,” said Kathryn Friesen, a Warcraft designer and member of the union’s organizing committee.