Call of Duty studio union efforts potentially approved by Microsoft
The fight continues for worker's rights involved with Activision Blizzard.
Given the constant storm Activision Blizzard continues to wade through, many employees are now calling for unionization efforts. Call of Duty studio Raven Software expressed their desires for a potential union in a letter. After the letter from Activision workers was presented, Microsoft stated it will not object to the recognition of internal unionization efforts.
The Call of Duty studio letter
After Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, workers had their concerns. Employees of Raven Software, one of Activision Blizzard’s studios known for making games like Call of Duty expressed their concerns through a letter. The letter sent to CEO Satya Nadella inquired whether Activision Blizzard recognize their union efforts and get approval through Microsoft to do so. Additionally, they highlighted three main questions in the letter:
With this, the Call of Duty studio received an answer from Microsoft:
“Microsoft will not stand in the way if Activision Blizzard recognizes a union… Microsoft respects Activision Blizzard employees’ right to choose whether to be represented by a labor organization and we will honor those decisions.”
However, whether discussions between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard began regarding unionization efforts seems unclear.
But will it come to pass?
While Microsoft’s response sounds reassuring, internal actions may counteract this. Activision Vice President of QA Christian Arends dissuaded staff from forming a union. “A union doesn’t do anything to help us produce world-class games,” Arends stated. “The bargaining process is not typically quick, often reduces flexibility, and can be adversarial and lead to negative publicity,” he added. Additionally, he followed up his statement saying “all of this could hurt our ability to continue creating great games.”
How Raven Software’s efforts influence everything moving forward is yet to be seen. Regardless, I highly support their rights as workers and hope to see change moving forward, given the drastic things that have happened within Activision Blizzard. Whether Microsoft or Activision Blizzard support them or not, let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Via, Axios.
