Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer has voiced his support for the recently formed Raven Software Union.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 10: Phil Spencer, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios at Microsoft Corp. speaks during Microsoft Xbox news conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Galen Center on June 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry.
He said that Microsoft, who is in the midst of acquiring Raven's parent company Activision Blizzard, will voluntarily recognize the union set up by Raven employees after the acquisition is complete, reports Engadget. This statement was made during a recent all-hands company meeting.
Here's what Spencer had to say:
"Once the deal closes, we would absolutely support an employees' organization that's in place. We think it is a right of employees and something that can be a part of a relationship between a company and people who work at the company."
But as per the original report by Kotaku (who were the ones that managed to see the recorded meeting), the head of Xbox also mentioned that he doesn't have a lot of experience with workers' unions. He said that he's been "spending a lot of time" studying about unions with Linda Norman, Microsoft's VP and Deputy General Counsel for its Gaming Division.
Despite that, however, Spencer did stress that Microsoft still hasn't established an official, working relationship with the Raven Software union (which is called the Game Workers Alliance) or the Communication Workers of America. This could mean that it will still take some time for the union to get a hard backing from the tech giant.
The Raven Software Union recently inched closer to being official, after eligible employees have voted to establish it by virtue of the decision from the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). 19 out of the 22 aforementioned eligible employees voted "yes" to unionization, with any parties who still have objections being given until May 31st to file their grievances.
If there are no petitions that will be filed within the time frame, then the Raven Software Union would become official. This would be the culmination of an uphill battle that startyed when 12 QA testers were "abruptly terminated" by Activision Blizzard last year.
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What Phil Spencer's Support Means For The Raven Union
Spencer and Xbox/Microsoft's stand on the unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard could mean a lot for the workers, who have been fighting against numerous alleged anti-union practices their employer has been trying for a while. That is, however, if the $69 billion deal to acquire Raven's parent company does push through.
As reported by IGN recently, the management of Raven has been reportedly sending employees emails and holding numerous meetings ahead of the unionization vote. This was said to be punctuated by a meeting last April 26th, wherein workers were allegedly told that voting to unionize will be bad for game development, as well as adversely affect benefits or promotions.
raven software
There were even reports of an email containing a graphic that says "Please Vote No," referring to the landmark unionization vote.
In the original report from the Washington Post, the top management of Raven Software cited their reasons for not agreeing to the vote. ActiBlizz spokesperson Rich George said in a statement released April 22nd that they're "disappointed" in the fact that the major decision was being made by less than 10 percent of the employee base.
Either way, Microsoft and Xbox aren't standing in the way of unionization efforts at Raven - at least for now.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
