Just because Blizzard was told “no” already apparently doesn’t mean the company is giving up on stopping QA workers at Diablo IV developer Blizzard Albany from forming a union. Blizzard has once again thrown a hurdle in front of workers’ attempt to organize by filing a request for review to the National Labor Relations Board, effectively trying to impound employee ballots while the asked for review is completed.
The arguments being made by Blizzard are quite literally the same ones it used to try and stop efforts at the Albany office as well as ones raised against Raven Software QA workers: that Albany QA workers should not steer the decisions of the entire studio and that all 100 employees should be included in the vote to unionize. “Activision wants what’s best for the entire team, including a transparent and democratic process for all employees,” a company spokesperson asserts. “We are concerned that 18 individuals will have the voting power to determine the fate of more than 100 workers and that’s why we advocate for all workers to have a vote.”
We note once again that this is a continuing mischaracterization of the process by ABK that has failed to convince the labor board in previous attempts; the QA union impacts only QA, not other units within the studio, which are also free to organize on their own.
That’s a position backed up by employees supporting the effort, who appear to be undeterred; Albany QA tester Amanda Laven, a three year veteran of the studio, points out that the QA unit is not making decisions for any other department in the studio and has not bargained for other employee wages or benefits, and argues that Blizzard is simply trying to hamstring the process before its Microsoft buyout can be completed.
Whether the NLRB will entertain this motion or not isn’t immediately clear, though it is expected to be rejected by the board, particularly since employees at the studio have already been sending in their ballots. On that subject, voting is expected to be finished by the end of the week.
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• National Labor Relations Board denies Activision-Blizzard’s attempt to freeze Albany QA workers’ union vote
• Blizzard once again tries to delay Albany QA workers’ union vote through a request for review
• Raven workers accuse Activision-Blizzard of ‘continued intransigence’ during union negotiations
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• Activision-Blizzard’s petition to dismiss discrimination suit was thrown out, company faces fresh unfair labor practice charges
• Blizzard Albany’s Diablo QA wins right to unionize as NLRB rejects Activision-Blizzard challenge
• Labor board determines Activision-Blizzard retaliated against unionizers, Microsoft launches acquisition website
• Blizzard is union-busting again, this time targeting the Diablo IV team
• Microsoft and CWA union enter into ‘labor neutrality’ agreement that will ultimately apply to Activision-Blizzard
• Its legal options exhausted, Activision-Blizzard finally agrees to negotiate with union after half a year of clowning
• Microsoft promises ‘creative and collaborative approaches with unions’ in official blog post
• Raven Software QA votes to form union in spite of months of Activision-Blizzard unionbusting
• Activision-Blizzard creeps out the internet with its ‘Diversity Space Tool’ as union-busting continues
• CWA says Activision-Blizzard management threatened workers for discussing labor rights
• Activision-Blizzard Q1 2022: Revenues plummet, Blizzard loses another 2M players
• Activision-Blizzard’s Raven Software gets green light to vote for a union by National Labor Relations Board
• Activision-Blizzard promotes over a thousand QA testers and bumps their pay – but not the ones unionizing
• Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick urged by U.S. Senator to get out of the way of unionization efforts
• ABK reportedly tries to stall Raven Software’s union vote as DFEH and SEC issue new subpoenas
• Raven Software files for union election after ActiBlizz ignores recognition request
• Activision’s Raven Software workers end strike pending official recognition of its union
• Activision-Blizzard’s Raven Software is formally unionizing
• Activision-Blizzard addresses Call of Duty mess, striking devs report ‘radio silence’
• Raven Software strike extends to its third week as Activision-Blizzard claims management is listening
• Activision-Blizzard fields new accusations as workers strike, fundraise, and issue union cards
• Activision-Blizzard is walking out again, Australia’s game industry unionizes
• Activision-Blizzard is suddenly laying off more QA, won’t be at The Game Awards
