First creation of a union at the video game publisher Activision
Activision employees voted overwhelmingly in favor of creating a union, a first for the American video game publisher.
Activision is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. (illustrative image)
Getty Images via AFP
Employees of a team at the American video game publisher Activision Blizzard, which distributes the flagship titles “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft”, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the creation of a union, a first within the company.
Out of 28 eligible voters, 19 voted for and 3 voted against, detailed the agency in charge of the organization of the poll (NLRB) following a count of the votes, by correspondence, Monday. This small team specializing in quality assurance at Raven Software, an Activision subsidiary, will be represented by the Communications Workers of America union.
A few employees began to mobilize at the end of 2021, engaging in a five-week strike after the dismissal of twelve employees. It was then the third work stoppage decided by the employees since the appearance, in July 2021, of a series of accusations of discrimination and harassment against management, recalls the union in a press release.
«Inspiration»
The employees officially banded together earlier this year as the Game Workers Alliance (CWA). “Our greatest hope is that our union will inspire the growing movement of workers who are organizing in video game studios to create better games and build workplaces that reflect our values and empower us” , underlined the organization after its victory.
In the video game sector, CWA has also helped create unions at Vodeo Games and Paizo studios. Activision, in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, acknowledged the result of the vote, assuring in a message to AFP “to respect” the right of employees to vote for a union.
However, adds the company, “we believe that an important decision, which affects all of the 350 employees of the Raven Software studio, should not be made by 19 Raven employees”. Several large multinationals, including Starbucks, Apple or Amazon, are currently facing a unionization campaign in the United States.
Posted today at 12:40 a.m.
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