Raven unionisation plans continue without Activision Blizzard recognition
James Batchelor
Editor-in-Chief
Wednesday 26th January 2022
The Raven Software staff attempting to create a new union for game workers must move to the next stage without said union being recognised by Activision Blizzard's leadership.
Following a vote in which 78% of eligible QA workers voted in favour of unionising within the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Activision Blizzard was given until 6pm Eastern Time to voluntarily recognise the newly formed Game Workers Alliance as a union.
However, the Washington Post reports the publisher's management has not done so.
The Post also reports Raven studio head Brian Raffell sent an email addressing the issue to staff shortly after the deadline passed.
""After carefully reviewing and considering the CWA's initial request of the company, we worked quickly to find a mutually acceptable solution with the CWA that would have led to an expedited election process," Raffel wrote. "Unfortunately, the parties could not reach an agreement.
"[We] expect that the union will soon be moving forward with the filing of a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election of eligible Raven employees. If filed, the company will respond formally to that petition promptly.
"The most important thing to the company is that each eligible employee has the opportunity to have their voice heard and their individual vote counted, and we think all employees at Raven should have a say in this decision."
A joint statement from the CWA and Game Workers Alliance confirmed they will proceed with unionisation plans without Activision Blizzard's recognition.
"We are proud to file with the NLRB as we enjoy supermajority support for our union and know that together, we will gain the formal legal
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