FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONTREAL (March 18 , 2025) – Today in Quebec, CWA Canada filed unfair labour practice complaints against Bethesda Game Studios (“BGS”) which is owned by Microsoft.
The Union recently certified a unit of 125 workers in Montreal. It was part of an organizing campaign conducted with the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) on both sides of the US-Canada border, as Bethesda Game Studies has employees in Montreal and in the US.
“We are very proud to have been chosen by Canada-based BGS game and media workers to represent them as their Union,” said Carmel Smyth, National President of CWA Canada. “We treat our duty to fairly represent our members as a great honour and responsibility.”
Bethesda Game Studios is known for producing groundbreaking video games like the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series, which allow players to change how gameplay unfolds with their own in game choices. Unfortunately, as CWA Canada alleges in its formal complaints, Microsoft-BGS has made the choice to approach bargaining with bad faith, putting arbitrary limits on who can represent the Union at the bargaining table and making the process unnecessarily difficult.
The Union calls the company’s lack of collaboration “insulting.”
Microsoft-BGS is also refusing to release information about employee bonus pay and details on the Company’s Pay Equity Plan, amongst other things. The Union has a legal right to this information for bargaining.
What is particularly concerning is how different the company is treating workers in Canada compared to what is happening in the U.S. There, the same company is bargaining with the union in a collaborative, productive fashion. They have not put limits on CWA bargaining and have been forthcoming with information for US-based employees. The two sides have met a number of times and have already reached tentative agreements, while the same US-based management personnel are treating their Canada-based employees differently.
“For us this is a fundamental issue of freedom of association,” said Carmel Smyth. “It’s not fair or democratic to have the Employer dictate how we as a union represent our members.” Smyth says that the Company is choosing to treat Canada-based employees like second-class citizens. “And we’re telling Microsoft that just doesn’t play in Canada.”
CWA Canada is the country’s only all-media union, representing 6,000 workers, including at the CBC, The Canadian Press, and newspapers, tech, digital media, and other companies coast to coast.
For more information, contact:
Carmel Smyth
President, CWA Canada
(416) 459-6766
csmyth@cwacanada.ca
Nasr Ahmed
CWA Canada Organizer
(647) 608-8299
nahmed@cwacanada.ca
