Activision Blizzard’s videogame workers are waiting to hear if they have formed the first labor union at an American large-scale videogame company.
The results of an election that affected a small number of Wisconsin-based quality assurance testers from Activision Blizzard’s Raven Software will be revealed Monday when ballots are counted. Raven Software is responsible for the development of the Call of Duty video game franchise.
Employees at Raven’s Middleton office, Wisconsin, have been participating in a larger internal shakeup at Activision Blizzard. This Santa Monica-based gaming giant has approximately 10,000 worldwide employees.
Microsoft is currently in the process to buy the game publisher. The government and shareholders have come under fire. Microsoft recently settled a federal civil right lawsuit over allegations that the management failed to address sexual harassment and discrimination at work.
Microsoft stated that it would not interfere with any efforts to unionize.
On Monday afternoon, the Milwaukee office of National Labor Relations Board will begin counting mailed-in ballots. After rejecting Activision’s request to expand the vote to include a larger group of Raven workers, a regional director at the NLRB ordered a May election. This could have diluted Activision’s vote.
Activision Blizzard stated Monday in a statement that it respects workers’ right to vote for a union, but criticised the classification of those workers.
The company stated that it believes that a significant decision that will affect the entire Raven Software Studio of approximately 350 employees should be made by more than 10% of its employees.
The pandemic has seen interest in organized labor rise, sparking unionization movements at companies such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Apple. This is despite nationwide labor shortages, and as record numbers of Americans quit their jobs. It gives workers more leverage to join unions.
