Activision Blizzard has announced that it will begin negotiations with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union on behalf of Raven Software quality assurance personnel.
In a letter to employees today, company CEO Bobby Kotick said Activision Blizzard plans to “entertain good faith negotiations” with CWA to reach a collective bargaining agreement.
Kotick noted that while the first labor contract may take some time to complete, the two parties will come to the negotiating table and work toward an agreement that “supports the success of all employees.” Doing so, Kotick believes, will further strengthen Activision’s “commitment to creating the best, most welcoming and inclusive workplace in the industry.”
“We started this process after making significant investments in our QA team members over the past few years, including significantly increasing the starting salaries of QA specialists and converting more than 1,100 U.S. temporary and temporary QA workers to full-time positions,” he said. wrote.
“This transition provides QA staff and their eligible dependents with comprehensive company benefits. In addition, we have expanded QA staff access to performance bonuses and learning and development opportunities. We have also more seamlessly integrated QA into game development. In the process, strengthen cooperation, bring better products to our players, and bring more opportunities to our team.”
Raven QA staff won the endorsement of their union, the Game Workers Alliance (GWA), with an 86% majority on May 23. Raven was the first group to win union representation at Activision Blizzard.
Earlier this year, Raven workers announced the GWA after a five-week strike. The strike began on December 6, when more than 60 Raven Software employees came out to protest after 12 of the studio’s QA testers were fired.
The strike is the third shutdown since Activision Blizzard was sued in late July 2021 over sexual harassment and misconduct allegations.
Ravens’ GWA primarily delivers the studio’s Call of Duty franchise and is supported through the CWA’s Organizing Digital Workforce Movement.
Microsoft has previously said that once Activision Blizzard is acquired for $68.7 billion, it will honor any agreement if Activision Blizzard recognizes the union.
