Activision Blizzard Employees Proceed Towards Unionization

• Twenty-two quality-assurance testers at Activision Blizzard, Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) studios have voted in favor of unionizing with the Communications Workers of America, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• The workers took part in the vote at Middleton, Wisconsin-based Raven, on May 23 amid opposition from Activision management.
• The move followed years of complaints about excessive working hours to meet deadlines and fostering cultures that were hostile to women.
• Raven helps make Activision’s famous “Call of Duty” franchise. 
• Tensions with the studio’s employees flared in 2021 when Activision ended contracts with about a dozen quality-assurance workers responsible for testing games for bugs. 
• More than 60 Raven workers walked out in protest, and later some announced plans to unionize.
• Activision, which has about 10,000 employees, argued that the union should have involved more of Raven’s nonmanagement staff. 
• The new union, called the Game Workers Alliance, could be certified by the National Labor Relations Board next week.
• Price Action: ATVI shares traded lower by 0.22% at $77.03 premarket on the last check Tuesday.