Activision Blizzard Recognizes Raven Software's QA Testers Union - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 10 June 2022 / 2,649 Views
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in an open letter sent to staff said the company recognizes the Communications Workers of America union formed by 27 quality assurance employees at Raven Software and will begin negotiations.
"I wanted to share the news that we will begin negotiations with the Communications Workers of America related to the 27 quality assurance employees at Raven Software, the majority of whom have chosen to be represented by this union. With the election having concluded, we will engage in good faith negotiations to enter into a collective bargaining agreement," said Kotick.
"While first labor contracts can take some time to complete, we will meet CWA leaders at the bargaining table and work toward an agreement that supports the success of all our employees, that further strengthens our commitment to create the industry’s best, most welcoming and inclusive workplace, and enhances our ability to deliver world class games for our players.
"We begin this process after major investments in our QA team members over the past couple years, including significantly increasing starting pay for QA specialists and converting over 1,100 U.S.-based temporary and contingent QA workers to full-time positions. This conversion is providing access to comprehensive company benefits for QA employees and their eligible dependents. In addition, we have expanded access to performance bonuses for QA employees and learning and development opportunities. We also have integrated QA more seamlessly into the game development process, increasing collaboration that results in better products for our players and more opportunities for our teams.
"This is a time of great opportunity for our company. I want to thank you for the passion, skill, and commitment you bring each day to create great games, to embrace opportunities to make this the industry’s very best place to work, and to connect and engage our players around the world."
Microsoft is in the middle of acquiring Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently stated he would recognize the union formed by quality assurance testers at Raven Software once the Activision Blizzard acquisition closes. He said leadership at Microsoft supports the right of employees' to organize and form unions.
"Linda Norman and I have been spending a lot of time educating myself on unions," said Spencer via Kotaku. "We absolutely support employees' right to organize and form unions."
He added, "Once the deal closes, we would absolutely support [an] employees' organization that's in place. We think it is a right of employees and something that can be a part of a relationship between a company and people who work at the company."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
