Raven QA employees vote in favor of creating the first gaming union

Raven Software employees voted to create the first major gaming union. The studio’s 22 QA employees sent ballots to the National Labor Relations Council in April. Today, the NLRB counted 19 votes in favor and 3 against. The 22 workers now form a trade union under the label Game Workers Alliance, recognized by the NLRB. They can now start negotiations with the parent company Activision Blizzard.

The QA team’s move came after a long struggle with Raven Software and the rest of Activision. Late last year, Raven fired several contract workers on the team instead of turning them into full-time staff, despite alleged guarantees and transfers to some positions. The team was working on Call of Duty: Warzone, one of Activision’s most lucrative games at the time. In protest, more than 60 Raven workers and employees went on strike created unity in January.

There have been various reports that Raven and Activision’s management are trying to dissuade workers from joining the union. Shortly after the above-mentioned strike, reorganized the last branch. In February, Activision claimed that the NLRB’s internal nature of the department meant that the entire studio would vote, but the NLRB later rejected his argument. That too QA changed staff work full-time with benefits and, According to a report by Bloomberg, employees who joined the union with their colleagues were not given a salary increase. according to The Washington Post reportsRaven also sent an e-mail to his staff with the “Vote No” attachment.

The Game Workers Alliance is the first major association recognized in the gaming industry. Reggie Fils-Aimé said today In an interview with the Washington Post, he said industry leaders should accept trade unions and “continue” if that is what their employees want.