QA workers at Raven Software, responsible for Call of Duty: Warzone, they achieved what for years seemed impossible, and formed the first union of video game workers in an AAA studio in the United States. But nevertheless, It seems that Activision Blizzard is doing everything possible to prevent this organization from coming to fruition.
After the Game Workers Alliance was unveiled last week, this in conjunction with QA employees at Raven and Communications Workers of America, Activision was asked to recognize this organization, with a deadline of January 25. But nevertheless, the date arrived, and the answer was negative. This was what the company mentioned:
“We carefully reviewed and considered CWA’s initial request last week and attempted to find a mutually agreeable solution with CWA that would have led to an expedited election process. Unfortunately, the parties were unable to reach an agreement.
We hope that the union will go ahead with filing a petition with the NLRB for an election. If filed, the company will formally respond to that request promptly. What is most important to the company is that every eligible employee has the opportunity to have their voice heard and their individual vote counted, and we believe all Raven employees should have a say in this decision.”
When a company refuses to voluntarily recognize a union, the organizers behind it must win a majority in an election ratified by the National Labor Review Board. This would have been something simple for GWA, since it only has 34 workers. But nevertheless, Activision has mentioned that all Raven Software employees should enter this vote, not just those in charge of quality control.
Activision argues that either all Raven Software unionizes or no one unionizes. Although there is a chance that this will have a positive outcome, it is somewhat complicated. And if that was not enough, this also gives the company time to do everything in its power to undo this organization, something that they have already begun to carry out.
It was recently reported that Raven studio head Brian Raffel has been meeting with staff about the plans to break up the QC group and integrate them into other individual teams. At the moment it is unknown how this chapter in the study’s history will unfold, but it seems that once again the situation is not favorable for the workers.
In related topics, you can learn more about this union here. Similarly, the next three Call of Duty would still come to PlayStation.
Editor’s note:
What started out as a beacon of hope for all workers in the industry has turned into yet another sign that Activision Blizzard doesn’t seem to care about its workers. One thing is not to recognize the union, and another is to do everything possible to prevent the workers from being able to vote in favor of this organization.
Via: Kotaku