Quality Assurance Workers of Raven Software Ask Activision Blizzard to Recognize the Game Workers Alliance Union
A group of 34 Quality Assurance workers from Raven Software have asked Activision Blizzard to formally recognize their formation of the Game Workers Alliance Union, following five weeks of striking in response to twelve temporary workers being told their contracts would not be renewed last month. As reported in a press release by the Communications Workers of America, the group of QA testers have amassed the 50% + 1 member majority necessary for Activision Blizzard management to voluntarily recognize their status as a union, although only applying to that subset of Quality Assurance employees rather than the entire 10,000 person staff. Upon recognition, the group would become an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, which represents approximately 700,000 workers as the largest labor union in the United States and around 8,000 in Canada. This unionization would be a first for Activision Blizzard and only the second time that members of a video game development studio had successfully unionized, following the dozen employees of independent game developer Vodeo Games last month.
Communication's Workers of America“Raven QA workers are taking an important next step toward improving their working conditions by joining together in a union, and we are excited to be supporting their efforts. We ask that Activision Blizzard management respect Raven QA workers by voluntarily recognizing CWA's representation without hesitation," said Communications Workers of America Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens. «A collective bargaining agreement will give Raven QA employees a voice at work, improving the games they produce and making the company stronger. Voluntary recognition is the rational way forward.”Blizzard first
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