Leaders at both Activision Blizzard and Raven Software are reportedly urging employees at Raven to vote against unionization ahead of the May 20 union election deadline. According to a report by The Washington Post, management at Raven has been actively spreading “anti-union messaging” at the company in the weeks leading up to the election deadline.
“At an April 26 town hall, leadership at Raven suggested that unionization might impede game development and affect promotions and benefits,” the report read. “They sent an email to employees the next day with a graphic attached that read ‘Please vote no.'”
However, the efforts appear to have fallen flat amongst those eligible to vote, who stated that they still voted in favor of unionizing Raven’s QA department.
“Finally being able to vote yes made all of the hard work we’ve put in over these past five months worth it,” said one employee interviewed in the report. “The fact that Activision tried so hard to stop our union every step of the way makes it clear that a union is necessary at this company.”
This is the latest development in a five-month-long battle between QA workers at Raven — who began the unionization process in January — and management at Activision Blizzard, which has repeatedly sought to quell unionization efforts within the company.
Shortly after Raven QA workers formed the Game Workers Alliance — the title of the QA union — Activision Blizzard decentralized QA workers by embedding them into various departments, which many critics saw as an action intended to dilute the bargaining party’s community of interest. Not long after, the company refused to recognize the union, prompting Raven employees to petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election. Just last month, the NLRB ruled the workers could hold a union election, which is currently ongoing. The ballots will be counted on May 23, three days after the election deadline.
