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QA staff at Forza Motorsport support dev Experis are unionizing

Experis' quality assurance team wants its union to address the developer's "multitude" of issues and ensure its members can have a family-supporting wage.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

October 23, 2023

2 Min Read
Two cars racing in key art for Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport (2023).
Via Microsoft

QA workers at support developer Experis Game Solutions have recently filed to unionize. Per Urban Milwaukee, the group filed for a union election with the NLRB this past Friday (October 20), and are organizing with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 10 (IAMAW).

Speaking to the outlet, IAMAW noted that Experis—which has worked on first-party Microsoft games like Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5—has "a multitude of chronic, industry-wide issues and seek[s] improvements in several areas including pay, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and workplace health & safety issues."

Microsoft is one of Experis' more high-profile clients, it doesn't appear the Xbox maker will have to sign any sort of neutrality agreement as it did with unionizing workers at Activision Blizzard in 2022. By extension, it's currently unknown if the developer will be called on to voluntarily recognize this new union like it did with ZeniMax's

Union priorities at Experis

The union's first priority will be to secure a living wage that can support a family, IAMAW continued, as many joined the company "because of their desire to work in the video game industry, only to be faced with burnout and a struggle to cover basic living expenses."

In August, the NLRB made the CEMEX Decision, which ruled that workers can have their unions recognized just by showing employers their Union Authorization Cards have been signed by a majority of staff. If it's found that employers conducted "unfair labor practices" between election petition and the actual vote, the company is ordered by the NLRB to recognize and bargain with the union. 

Referring to the CEMEX ruling, IAMAW noted Experis' QA staff was "excited to participate in a union election free from employer-induced fear, intimidation, and misinformation that is so commonly a part of an anti-union campaign.”

About the Author

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

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