Raven Software QA Testers Unionize, Call for Voluntary Recognition

More than 30 quality assurance testers at Activision-owned Raven Software have formally called upon management to recognize their union — potentially the first at a major US-based games company. (H/T The Washington Post)

The testers number 34 in total, most of whom work on Call of Duty: Warzone. They received a majority of signatures within their department to form the union, named the Game Workers Alliance. They cited a recent bout of layoffs among Raven QA testers, excessive overtime, low pay, the expectation to relocate at Raven's whim, and the widely reported toxic corporate culture at Activision Blizzard as motivating factors in their unionization efforts.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Bloomberg the company is "carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company's nearly 10,000 employees."

In a Wednesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Activision Blizzard said none of its employees were part of a union, and that, to its knowledge, there was no ongoing strike or work stoppage. That filing was made seven weeks into an ongoing strike by Activision Blizzard employees protesting the sudden layoffs of 12 Raven QA testers Dec. 3.

Should Activision Blizzard recognize the Game Workers Alliance, it would become the first union at a AAA video game company. Another, smaller studio, Vodeo, became the first North American video company to unionize late last year.

The media union Communications Workers of America supported the unionization efforts at Raven. The 12 testers whose layoffs prompted the work stoppage are among the signatories calling for a union to form. Their contracts expire Jan. 28, but the department would retain a supermajority of union card signatures even if those workers left.

Game Workers Alliance gave management five days to respond, including the weekend, in their letter. Should the company fail to respond by the end of Jan. 25, employees will file for a union election through the National Labor Relations Board — a tactic made available because of its supermajority. If the union wins 50% plus one of the votes within the department — at this point a likely result — Activision Blizzard would be forced to begin bargaining over work conditions.

Workers chose to name their union the rather broad Game Workers Alliance to allow other parts of the company, or other games workers across the country, to join over time.

Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard earlier this week in a $68.7 billion transaction. It's unclear how this unionization will affect the deal.

CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer expressed a lack of knowledge about unions when asked about the possibility by The Washington Post.

"I'm going to be honest, I don't have a lot of personal experience with unions," he said. "I've been at Microsoft for 33 years, so I'm not going to try to come across as an expert on this, but I'll say we'll be having conversations about what empowers them to do their best work, which as you can imagine in a creative industry, is the most important thing for us."