Activision Blizzard is being accused of denying employees at Raven Software pay raises because of the unionization efforts at the studio, according to an investigation by the US National Labor Relations Board. However, despite Activision’s other attempts at union-busting, the company insists that it was legally obligated from giving out raises.
Last year saw protests at Raven over the layoff of a dozen quality assurance testers grow to include employees from all over Activision’s studios. From this came a push by a group of Raven’s QA testers to unionize, which it voted to do in May this year, officially forming the Game Workers Alliance, the first AAA video game developer union in the US. It’s no secret that Activision Blizzard has been pushing back against this, having refused to recognize the GWA and spreading anti-union messages in the lead-up to the vote.
That may be just the tip of the iceberg, though, as the company has been accused of threatening union-supporting employees in various ways. The Washington Post reports that, according to the NLBR’s findings, Activision excluded Raven from receiving pay raises that it offered to its other studios’ QA testers in April. Given the timing of the move, this could be evidence of retaliation on Activision’s part for Raven’s unionization efforts.
But Activision says that’s not the case, as a spokesperson stated that “legal obligations under the [National Labor Relations Act]” required the company not to give out wage increases while an election was pending. The logic behind this claim seems to be that the company didn’t want to interfere with the GWA vote, though that doesn’t add up in light of the emails Raven’s upper management reportedly sent to employees telling them to “please vote no.”
Despite the known and potential attempts at union-busting, the vote went in the GWA’s favor, but the fight’s not over yet. The union will continue its negotiations with Activision Blizzard regarding a collective bargaining agreement. Should the negotiations end up breaking down, or Activision straight up refuses to settle, the NLRB can either issue a complaint or even take the case to a federal court.
In the wake of the GWA being made official, another Activision studio, Blizzard Albany, followed its lead by filing a request for a union vote with the NLBR in July. This in turn led Activision lawyers to argue against unionization by using a Diablo 4 trailer. While Activision continues to show resistance to letting its studios unionize, its soon-to-be parent company Microsoft has said it will recognize the unions should its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard ultimately go through.
Source: The Washington Post