The quality assurance testers at Raven Software have voted to unionize after months of organizing. This is the first major gaming company in the US to have a union.
A total of 24 out of 28 eligible workers voted after the vote was administered through the National Labor Relations Board.
Microsoft's plan to buy the company for $68.7 billion is one of the largest tech acquisitions in history, just days after these workers announced their intent to unionize. Quality assurance (QA) testers who mostly work on Call of Duty had been on strike for about five weeks, protesting the layoffs of 12 contractors, as the news of the pending acquisition went public.
About a third of my department was told on December 3 that their contracts were going to be terminated early. It was coming off of a five-week stretch of overtime, consistent work, and we realized in that moment that our day-to- day was not going to be the same.
In the gaming industry, this five-week stretch of overtime work is referred to as "crunch" and is often cited as a cause of stress for workers. The union, which goes by the name Game Workers Alliance and is represented by the Communications Workers of America, can now attempt to bargain with their employer in state rules that circumvent unexpected layoffs.
Around 10,000 people work at the company. The state of California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the company in July, accusing them of fostering a frat boy workplace culture. Kotick has been rumored to step down due to the sexual harassment scandals in his company, but that may not happen until after the Microsoft acquisition.
When the Game Workers Alliance filed for a union election, they were confronted with the fact that any union must include all of the employees at Raven Software, which would make it more difficult for them to win a vote. The department could vote to unionize on its own.
Activision tried everything it could to prevent the workers from forming a union. It didn't work, and we are thrilled to have them as members of the CWA.
Since then, the company has tried to improve working conditions. The minimum wage was increased to $20 per hour in April as the company converted about 1,100 QA contractors to full-time staffers. The National Labor Relations Act prevented the company from changing the pay rate of its employees in the midst of a union effort. The CWA said that this was an attempt at union busting. Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board found that a group of workers at the company were illegally threatened and had their rights restricted because of a social media policy.
The Game Workers Alliance said in a statement that their biggest hope is that the union serves as inspiration for the growing movement of workers organizing at video game studios to create better games and build workplaces that reflect our values and empower all of us.
Vodeo Games became the first gaming union in North America last year. The success of a union at a major gaming studio may lead to more attempts to unionize.
All employees have the right to decide whether or not to support or vote for a union. The decision that will impact the entire studio of 350 people should not be made by 19 employees, according to a spokesman for the company.
Within the next five days, an objection can be filed. It's unlikely that the decision will be overturned on the grounds that the 28-person QA department had a right to organize independent of the rest of Raven Software.
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