Activision Blizzard will begin talks with the QA Tester Association at Raven Software

Activision Blizzard will begin talks with the QA Tester Association at Raven Software

After Activision Blizzard refused to voluntarily recognize a consortium formed by QA testers at Raven Software — a subsidiary that works on Call of Duty games — the testers went through an election process and formed a consortium last month. Voted. Now, Activision Blizzard's current CEO Bobby Kotick tells employees in a letter that the company recognizes the union and will "engage in good faith negotiations to enter into a collective bargaining agreement."

Coming here comes after news of layoffs late last year, followed by a worker walkout and a five-week strike. There was also a part where Activision Blizzard engaged in tactics that smelled of union busting, such as suddenly converting other testers at the company into full-time jobs with benefits and Raven simultaneously relegating their roles to testers. to elaborate. Payment not received. Across the company, this is only a small fraction of the employee feedback that has occurred within Activision Blizzard over the past year.

The rest of the text of Kotick's letter is below. After the vote passed with 19 out of 22 votes (two ballots were challenged), the company was out of easy options to avoid it. Still, an alternative route involves the one Amazon is taking in response to a union vote at one of its warehouses where it is contesting the vote, in a process that could delay the start of negotiations for years.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, which is attempting to acquire Activision Blizzard, recently adopted publicly adopted principles for employee organizing. The principles included a line saying, "We are dedicated to maintaining close relationships and shared partnerships with all of our employees, including those represented by a union"—without guaranteeing too many in particular.

Crew,

I wanted to share the news that we will begin conversations with the Communications staff of America belonging to the 27 quality assurance employees at Raven Software, most of whom have chosen to be represented by this association. With the election over, we will engage in goodwill talks to enter into a collective bargaining agreement.

While it may take some time for the first labor contracts to be completed, we will meet with CWA leaders at the bargaining table and work toward an agreement that supports the success of all of our employees, based on the industry's best, One of the most welcome. , This further reinforces our commitment to creating a worthy and inclusive workplace. , and enhances our ability to deliver world class play to our players.

We begin this process after a large investment over the years in QA team members, including a significant increase in starting salaries for QA specialists and the hiring of more than 1,100 U.S.-based temporary and casual QA workers into full-time positions. Recruitment is included. converting is included. This conversion is providing access to comprehensive company benefits for QA employees and their eligible dependents. In addition, we have expanded access to performance bonuses for QA staff and learning and development opportunities. We've integrated QA more seamlessly into the game development process, increasing collaboration resulting in better products for our players and more opportunities for our teams.

This is a time of great opportunity for our company. I want to thank you for the passion, skill, and commitment you bring to making this industry the best place to work and for making great games every day to our efforts around the world. To connect and engage players.

with appreciation,

policeman