Activision Blizzard Sends Anti-Union Emails Ahead of Raven Software Vote
Activision Blizzard is actively preventing Raven Software’s QA staff from voting to unionize ahead of an ongoing May 20 election.
According to a Washington Post report, Raven management sent messages to employees and held town hall meetings about the election, including an April 26 town hall meeting telling employees that unionizing could hurt game development and hurt promotions or benefits .
Following this event, an email was reportedly sent to employees with a graphic attached that read, “Please vote no.”
The National Labor Relations Board approved the unionization vote in late April after an extended back-and-forth between quality assurance staff and management that began last year after Activision Blizard unexpectedly fired around a dozen QA contractors.
After a strike in protest, Raven Software went into unionization and petitioned the NLRB when Activision Blizzard failed to voluntarily recognize its union by the deadline. Ballots were sent to eligible QA staff via videoconference with a deadline of May 20 and a scheduled count of the ballots on May 23.