NLRB says QA workers at Blizzard Albany can proceed with union vote
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has given QA testers at Blizzard Albany the greenlight to vote in a union election.
The decision means that 21 employees at Blizzard Albany, formerly known as Vicarious Visions, can push ahead with their attempts to establish a recognized union under the Game Workers Alliance Albany (GWA Albany) banner.
"We are thrilled to announce that the NLRB ruled in our favor to have an election of Albany QA testers at Blizzard," said the group on social media. "With 94 percent committed to winning the union, we look forward to counting ballots a month from today."
GWA Albany broke cover earlier this year and said it had come together to ensure its members would be "respected and compensated for our essential role in the development process."
"We, the QA testers of Blizzard Albany are committed to fostering an open, diverse and equitable workplace. We demand an environment where our skills, ideals, and democratic decisions are valued and respected. To that end, we have organized with the CWA to form our union," it added.
Activision Blizzard, however, said it wouldn't voluntarily recognise the union and reached out to the NRLB to explain why.
Now, according to a Decision and Direction of Election response [PDF download] published by the NLRB, it seems Activision Blizzard was attempting to argue that GWA Albany members shouldn't be allowed to unionize because they "lack a community of interest among themselves."
Essentially, the Call of Duty publisher told the NRLB that the QA workers behind GWA Albany are working on different projects and franchises ranging from World of Warcraft, Diablo IV, and Diablo II Resurrection, and as such shouldn't be allowed to organize within a single unit.
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