Raven Software, part of Activision Blizzard, has been in the news several times in recent months. They hate cheaterslike all of us. And they’re the ones who went on strike after Activision Blizzard fired 12 Quality Assurance (QA) employees. The layoffs came like a bolt from the blue. Especially since Warzone brought in one billion euros that year. And now they are the first gamer group in America to start a union.
Raven Software is done with it
Union formation is often held back in America. With especially arguments as ‘You are special, you can stand up for yourself. You really don’t need a union for that.Now that Activision Blizzard management is busy with the deal met Microsoft these employees saw their chance. 34 Raven Software employees have now taken the step. With the help of the Communications Workers of America.
“Today, I am proud to join with a supermajority of my fellow workers to build our union, Game Workers Alliance (CWA). In the video game industry, specifically Raven QA, people are passionate about their jobs and the content they are creating. We want to make sure that the passion from these workers is accurately reflected in our workplace and the content we make. Our union is how our collective voices can be heard by leadership,” – Becka Aigner, QA functional tester II at Raven Software.
Activision Blizzard responds in statement
The union, Game Workers Alliance Union, is asking to be recognized voluntarily. If this happens, they can sit down with Activision Blizzard. They can then negotiate better working conditions. Activision Blizzard came up with it themselves next statement (at the bottom of the page):
Activision Blizzard is carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company’s nearly 10,000 employees. While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union.
Furthermore, Activision Blizzard discusses all the positives achieved without a union. Such as raising the minimum wage limit by 41%, extra vacation days and hiring 60% of part-timers as full-timers. It is striking that Activision Blizzard, which often uses anti-union tactics, still wants to underline what has been achieved without a union. What Microsoft thinks about this remains to be seen. Anyway, for the people who work in the games industry it is a step in the right direction.
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