Raven Software union bid pushes on, despite Activision Blizzard missing deadline to respond
A unionisation bid by QA staff at Call of Duty studio Raven Software will continue, despite Activision Blizzard missing last night's 11pm deadline to respond and voluntarily recognise the group.
The bid will now be filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent government agency.
Raven staff announced last week that they would attempt to unionise as part of the Communication Workers of America (CWA), and voted to begin the process of being recognised by their employer.
A quick resolution to this process — Activision Blizzard accepting the union bid — seemed unlikely. This week, Raven bosses also announced changes to its QA team structure, with the intent to embed workers around the company rather than in a specific unit — seen by some as an attempt to damp down the unionisation bid.
«We, the supermajority of workers at Raven QA, are proud to be confidently filing our petition with the NLRB for our union election,» the group wrote on Twitter last night.
«We are deeply disappointed that Raven Software and Activision Blizzard refused to uplift workers rights by choosing to not voluntarily recognise our union in spite of our supermajority support.
»This was an opportunity for Activision Blizzard to show a real commitment setting new and improved standards for workers. Instead, Activision Blizzard has chosen to make a rushed restructuring announcement to try and hinder our right to organise."
We, the supermajority of workers at Raven QA, are proud to be confidently filing our petition with the NLRB for our union election. (1/5)
«At Activision Blizzard, we deeply respect the rights of all employees to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union,» an Activision Blizzard spokesperson
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