Activision Blizzard accepts union negotiations

Activision Blizzard Inc. CEO Bobby Kotick said the largest independent video game publisher in the US will begin negotiating with the Communications Workers of America on a collective bargaining agreement for employees of its Raven Software subsidiary.

Last month, a majority of Raven Software employee video game testers voted to form a union, a first for a US-listed game company. Workers came together in response to job cuts. jobs at the company last December.

“While the first employment contracts may take some time to complete, we will meet with CWA leaders at the bargaining table and work toward an agreement that supports the success of all of our employees,” Kotick wrote in an email to reporters. employees.

Read more: US companies have always been more anti-union than international companies. this is why

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69 billion and the software giant has said it will work with the unions. Acknowledging that “the workplace is changing,” Microsoft President and Vice President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post earlier this month that “we respect this right and do not believe that our employees or the other stakeholders of the company benefit from resisting legal efforts by employees to participate. in protected activities, including forming or joining a trade union”.

Activision Blizzard has faced controversy over its reaction to Raven Software’s union push, including accusations of union busting. A day after Smith’s blog post, the CWA filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board alleging that Activision Blizzard unlawfully retaliated against employees for unionizing efforts.

CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens described Kotick’s message as a positive step toward better labor relations at Activision Blizzard. “We know that the management approach recommended by anti-union consultants is ineffective and damaging,” she said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We hope that today’s announcement is the first of many steps toward full collaboration between ABK leadership and employees to positively shape Activision’s future through a strong union contract.”