Software QA employees at Activision vote to unionize
Staffers at Activision subsidiary Raven Software, which helps create the “Call of Duty” online game sequence, authorized a proposal to unionize on Monday.
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Workers at a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard voted to unionize on Monday, establishing the primary union at a big US online game writer.
Software high quality assurance employees at Activision’s Raven Software division, which works on the “Call of Duty” sequence, voted 19 to three in favor of unionization and shall be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The vote, counted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), applies to a section of employees at Raven, which employs round 350 folks. The NLRB beforehand rejected Activision’s demand {that a} union election embody all employees.
This week’s vote is the most recent in a string of unionization efforts which have been underneath means at different know-how corporations in current months, together with retail employees at Apple shops and Amazon warehouse employees. Technology employees have additionally unionized at organizations, resembling “The New York Times,” the place employees voted 404 to 88 in favor of making a union that represents round 600 software program engineers, information analysts and different employees.
The choice to unionize at raven Software follows months of organizing by Raven employees. The organizers shaped the Game Workers Alliance in January to characterize employees following a five-week strike over Activision’s choice to put off 12 high quality assurance testers. The Game Workers Alliance motion was backed by the CWA.
“Our biggest hope is that our union serves as inspiration for the growing movement of workers organizing at video game studios to create better games and build workplaces that reflect our values and empower all of us,” employees within the union at Activision stated in an announcement. “We look forward to working with management to positively shape our working conditions and the future of Activision Blizzard through a strong union contract.”
The firm, in an announcement, reiterated that needed any union vote to be performed amongst all of its employees: “We respect and believe in the right of all employees to decide whether or not to support or vote for a union. We believe that an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio of roughly 350 people should not be made by 19 Raven employees.”
Activision is about to be acquired by Microsoft in a $68.7 billion deal that was authorized by Activision shareholders in April. The acquisition is about to shut by June 2023.