After it was revealed in May of this year that Raven software managed to become the first syndicate of Activision Blizzard, it seems that several teams of teasters followed these steps, and in July 2022 it was revealed that Blizzard Albany, a studio located in New York, made up of 20 employees who mainly dedicate themselves to Diablo QA, undertook the process to form a union . For your fortune, the vote took place today, and the result was positive.
After several months of negotiation, and attempts by Activision Blizzard to ruin these plans, today the vote was held to make Blizzard Albany the company’s second union. The results of the elections were: 14 votes in favor of the union, no votes against. There were 18 eligible voters, with three contested votes. Game Workers Alliance Albany, as this group of workers is known, like Raven Software, is represented by the Communications Workers of America – Campaign to Organize Digital Employees, or CODE-CWA for its acronym in English. This was what Amanda Deep, associate test analyst at Blizzard Albany, had to say about it:
“It took an incredible amount of work and perseverance to move this fight forward. With this win, we stand up for ourselves and others because we care deeply about our work and the games we make. Organizing has empowered all of us to fight hard for the dignity and respect that every worker deserves on the job.”
For its part, Activision Blizzard issued the following message:
“We are considering all options, focusing on what is best for all employees and delivering the best games to our millions of players. We still believe that all of our Albany team should have the right to vote. It is about justice and fundamental rights for each member of the team.”
This trip was not without problems, since Activision Blizzard was accused of trying to destroy the union in the run up to the Blizzard Albany union election. In October, the Game Workers Alliance filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the company after its communications director, Lulu Cheng Meservey, posted a company-wide Slack message “discrediting the union.” That statement received a lot of backlash from employees.
Despite this, the end result is that Blizzard Albany has become the second official syndicate of Activision Blizzard, and at this rate, it might not be the last. For their part, the QAs on this team are currently working on Diablo 4, which is scheduled to arrive next year.
On related topics, China rejects the purchase of Activision Blizzard. Similarly, this is what will happen to the company’s games if the Microsoft acquisition does not go through.
Editor’s Note:
This is very good news. At this rate, it’s likely that more and more unions will spring up not just at Activision Blizzard, but throughout the rest of the video game industry. Testers usually don’t have as good benefits as the rest of the employees in the industry, and they are exposed to losing their job, so this is a good way to secure their future.
Via: Polygon
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