![]() Increasing the size of the voting pool could dilute the voting power of the 20 QA testers, labor lawyers say, potentially causing the unionization vote to fail. “Given our tightly integrated Albany operations, we believe strongly that no employee should be disenfranchised and that creativity, inspiration and the free exchange of ideas work best when all nonsupervisory employees in Albany working on Diablo get to participate in the vote, not just 20 quality assurance testers identified by the union.” “We believe all our employees should have the right to choose whether or not to join a union in a fair and confidential vote,” Activision Blizzard spokesman Rich George said. The Xbox and Windows maker previously said in June it would respect the rights of Activision Blizzard workers to join a union.Īctivision Blizzard wants to increase the eligible voting group for a union election at Blizzard Albany, arguing that additional - but not all - workers at the studio should be included. Microsoft is purchasing Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion in an all-cash deal, pending regulatory approval. “The reasons for wanting the delay may be manifold, including not only the obvious - delay what may be inevitable - but for possible transactional reasons ” “The instinct to delay unionization efforts is always there on the part of employers,” said Wilma Liebman, former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board under former president Barack Obama. The group of 20 quality assurance testers at the Albany, N.Y.-based studio requested recognition of a union in July, but management did not voluntarily recognize them.īlizzard Albany, formerly Vicarious Visions, announces unionization bid Quality assurance testers at Blizzard Albany are paid between $33,000 and $53,000 annually, according to a document shared by the QA testers’ lawyers during this week’s hearing. introduced the pay bands, which indicate that we are the lowest paid members of the studio by a long shot.” “I think it’s very cut and dry,” said a current Blizzard Albany quality assurance tester, speaking on the condition of anonymity, referencing a document lawyers showed of employees’ salaries and hourly wages. The testers at Blizzard Albany seek to unionize to bargain for improved working conditions and higher wages. Meanwhile, employees’ counsel asked for a group of 20 quality assurance testers to constitute the bargaining unit. Speaking at a virtual hearing over the video conference platform Zoom, the company’s lawyers stated the position that anyone at the Blizzard Albany studio working on Diablo games should get a vote. Activision Blizzard’s lawyers have framed much of their argument in the Blizzard Albany hearing around the highly anticipated upcoming Blizzard game “Diablo IV.”Īt stake in the hearing is which Blizzard Albany workers will be able to participate in a unionization vote. Video game publisher Activision Blizzard’s lawyers and employees were back in front of the National Labor Relations Board this week, arguing over who should get to vote on a potential Blizzard Albany union.
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