The QA testers at Raven Software, an Activision Blizzard subsidiary, have successfully voted to unionize in a landmark victory for the video game industry.
raven software
According to a report by GameInformer, the Raven Software union is now going to be called The Game Workers Alliance. It is only the second formal union to be formed within the North American game industry, and the first ever to be formed inside a major game developer/publisher in the US.
They follow in the footsteps of employees of Vodeo Games, the developers of the game Beast Breaker, who were the first to do it back in December of last year (via Polygon). It is also worth noting that the Raven QAs managed to achieve this victory even if there were numerous alleged attempts from Activision Blizzard to block it.
The victory was awarded to the workers of Raven by the Milkwaukee branch of the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). Mailed-in ballots sent by employees were counted, with 19 out of 22 voting yes to unionization. Any parties who might object have until May 31st to file, though one might assume that this will be done by Activision Blizzard with a quickness.
If nobody files a petition by the deadline, then everything will be finally set in stone.
The original report comes from the Washington Post, where numerous other details about the vote were shared. In a statement, ActiBlizz spokeswoman Jessica Taylor said something rather ominous:
"We believe that an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio of roughly 350 people should not be made by 19 of Raven employees. We're committed to doing what's best for the studio and our employees."
What that statement could mean is that the AAA gaming giant could still file a petition to contest. But of course, that remains to be seen until the May 31st deadline passes. For now, a lot of things seem to be pointing in the right direction.
Read also: PlayStation Plus Is Reportedly Adding A CRT Filter For PS1 Games
The Raven Software Union's Uphill Fight
All of this started last year, when Activision Blizzard was sued by the state of California for allegations of workplace harassment and toxicity. The entire issue swept the industry and prompted responses from other bigwigs, including Xbox head Phil Spencer who said that the accusations against ActiBlizz are "deeply disturbing" (via IGN).
Spencer's comments likely hold more weight than others, considering Microsoft is in the midst of trying to acquire Activision Blizzard for roughly $70 billion.
BRAZIL - 2022/02/04: In this photo illustration, an Activision Blizzard logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.
Next up, a total of 12 QA testers from Raven Software were laid off. This then prompted several other employees to vote for unionization, but it wasn't without challenges. When the company decided to promote 1,000 game testers to full-time employment and pay raises, Raven QAs were left out of the deal, as reported by The Verge.
Some people assumed that it was a deliberate attempt to discourage unionization, although ActiBlizz will likely neither admit to doing such a thing - nor would the assumption be confirmed in any way. Their official reasoning for it was that they have legal obligations under the NLRB prohibiting them from making compensation changes at Raven for the meantime.
This is a developing story.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
