Activision exec tries to dissuade employees from unionizing in a leaked Slack message

engadget.com:

Since a group of 34 quality assurance testers at Raven Software voted to unionize earlier this month, the studio's parent company, Activision Blizzard, has been making moves that will undermine that support and make it harder for workers to organize. This morning, Activision VP of QA Chris Arends sent the clearest message yet about where executives stand on the unionization effort, and (spoiler) it's firmly against.

In an internal, locked Slack channel on Monday morning, Arends asked himself six questions about the potential union and provided answers for employees from Activision's point of view, as shared on Twitter by union organizer Jessica Gonzalez. Employees were unable to respond to the message. Each answer diminished the benefits of unionization, but the fourth prompt offered the most explicit takedown of the organization process. It reads as follows: 

We heard that the union will protect employees and provide employees with job security?

Job security here at ABK rests with our ability to produce epic entertainment for our fans. A union doesn't do anything to help us produce world-class games, and the bargaining process is not typically quick, often reduces flexibility, and can be adversarial and lead to negative publicity. All of this could hurt our ability to continue creating great games.

The fifth answer argued that union-driven bargaining takes too long to be effective, stating the obvious in the process: "A unionized company cannot act quickly on its own if the union does not agree with its position." The final answer reminded employees that they don't have to vote in favor of the union when an election takes place.

On Twitter, Gonzalez called the post "sad."

This is the latest move from Activision designed to