34 Raven Software QA Staff Unite After Weeks of Strike

Nearly 34 Raven Software employees have agreed to unionize.

The union, announced in the press release, is called the Game Workers Alliance Union and is part of a larger group of American telecom workers. The new union is asking Activision Blizzard, which will be acquired by Microsoft by the end of fiscal 2023, to recognize the union voluntarily without hesitation.

Raven QA Function Tester II Becka Aigner said in her press release, “Today, I am proud to join the Game Workers’ Union (CWA) union with many of my fellow employees.” “In the video game industry, especially Raven QA, people are passionate about their jobs and the content they create. We want to ensure that the passion of these workers is accurately reflected in our workplace and the content we create. How leadership can hear the voice of our group.”

Bloomberg reports that 34 quality assurance testers have agreed to unionize.

Activision Blizzard told Bloomberg that “the CWA’s voluntary accreditation request is being carefully considered, and the CWA intends to organize about 34 of the company’s approximately 10,000 employees.”

Activision Blizzard said, “While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members provides the strongest workforce opportunity, we deeply respect the right of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether to join a union or not.” said. A spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg also reports that this combination will be the first combination of publicly traded video game publishers and the first combination within Activision Blizzard. This comes just over a month after the first North American video game coalition was recognized by Vodeo Games, as Polygon reported.

The news of this union at Raven came just over six weeks after the studio fired several members of its QA team. Shortly after this, dozens of Raven employees went on strike. Activision Blizzard broke silence about the strike a few weeks later, but did not officially acknowledge the strike.

The union said in a press release that “Acvision Blizzard used surveillance and intimidation tactics to silence workers, including hiring notorious union breakers, instead of working with organized workers to improve workplace conditions.” “Still, members of the Gaming Workers’ Union (CWA) hope that Activision Blizzard executives will come to the table and officially recognize the union.”

Erin Hall, Raven QA Feature Tester II, said, “Our union will help inform Activision Blizzard of what’s best for us as a company, a platform for gamers, and a workplace where every employee can thrive.” said. “The goal of the Game Workers Coalition (CWA) is to not only represent what we want as workers in the industry, but to set new standards for workers across the industry moving forward,” she said.

The press release stated, “The Game Workers’ Federation (CWA) will prepare a structure in which workers can actively pursue practical changes in the company to ensure fair working conditions, wages, benefits, and transparency of work without fear of retaliation.” .