A group of Activision Blizzard employees vote to form the company’s first union
“Our greatest hope is that our union will inspire the growing movement of workers organizing in video game studios to create better games and build workplaces that reflect our values and empower us all,” they said. the alliance members said in a statement shared by CWA. “We look forward to working with management to positively shape our working conditions and the future of Activision Blizzard through a strong union contract,” they added.
“We respect and believe in the right of all employees to decide whether to support or vote for a union or not,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told CNN Business when asked about the union vote. “We believe that an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio, which numbers approximately 350 people, should not be made by 19 Raven employees.”
Activision Blizzard continues to face intense scrutiny from regulators as well as backlash from employees.
The National Labor Relations Board ‘found merit’ in allegations that Activision Blizzard retaliated against employees seeking to unionize and used an ‘overbroad social media policy’ to prevent workers from getting unionized. speak out online about wages, hours and working conditions, NLRB spokeswoman Kayla Blado said. A declaration. If Activision Blizzard does not settle with the NLRB, the agency will file a formal complaint, Blado added.
“These allegations are false,” the Activision Blizzard spokesperson said in a statement. “Employees can and do speak freely about these issues in the workplace without retaliation, and our social media policy expressly incorporates [labor] rights.”
On Tuesday, a day after the Raven union vote, a group of current and former Activision Blizzard employees announced the formation of a workers’ committee against sex and gender discrimination. The committee aims to “ensure that company management fulfills its obligations … to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace,” according to a press release shared with CNN Business by a group representative. .
Activision Blizzard said it has increased lactation locations in its offices, improved the quality and safety of equipment, and added new locks on all refrigerators, while taking steps to meet other employee demands.
“We have … already upgraded our lactation facilities, waived arbitration, hired new [diversity and inclusion] leaders and worked with employees to make our policies and processes more inclusive, to name just a few issues raised by the letter,” the company spokesperson said. “We thank these employees and will continue to work with all our employees on our journey to be a better company.”
Ongoing tensions with employees come as the company prepares for a major transition.
— Sara Ashley O’Brien of CNN Business contributed to this report.
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