At the tail end of December, we reported that Blizzard-owned studio Proletariat was forming a union known as the Proletariat Workers Alliance. The announcement confirmed that the fledgling union would fall under the Communication Workers of America banner and that the union would ask management to formally recognize its creation. According to a statement shared by CODE-CWA, that has not happened.
Union representatives say that both Proletariat leadership and Activision management refused requests to talk about neutrality and is forcing workers to organize through the NLRB voting process despite claims that the supermajority of employees at Proletariat signed union cards. The statement also says that management held an “inappropriate” town hall meeting full of “anti-union influence” on the same day that ZeniMax QA workers formed their own union.
“[Management’s] actions this week have been right out of the union-busting playbook used by Activision and so many others,” reads the statement. “We can decide for ourselves if we want a union. We don’t need help from management. We need – and deserve – respect and neutrality. We want to do right by our team and collaborate with management without contention.”
Readers will remember that Activision-Blizzard gleefully trying to bust unions is not news as outlined in the list below, and the two times it tried to stop the NLRB voting process for both Raven Software QA and Blizzard Albany QA failed.
• Workers at Blizzard-owned Proletariat say management refused its union and is ‘forcing’ them to go through NLRB voting
• QA workers at Diablo IV studio unanimously vote to form a union
• 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
• Activision-Blizzard continues obstructing QA worker unionization with latest appeal
• 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
Update
Blizzard offered this statement from an unnamed spokesperson:
“Shortly after the CWA filed a petition for union election at Proletariat, some employees said they felt pressured to sign union cards, were inadequately informed about what they were signing and what it meant when they signed. Given this fact, we strongly believe an anonymous vote is the fairest option. Many employees have requested it, as it gives them the chance to collect facts and insights about such an important decision without any external pressure. We want to ensure that all employees can make their voices heard, as this is their decision.”
The statement, of course, is unverifiable and not even attributed to a specific Blizzard exec.
Update
Proletariat’s union group has tweeted to clarify who was issuing its statements and on whose behalf, as CODE-CWA had originally used the phrase “Proletariat workers” instead of “Proletariat Workers Alliance”:
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