Activision exec tries to dissuade workers from unionizing in a leaked Slack message

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Since a gaggle of 34 high quality assurance testers at Raven Software program voted to unionize earlier this month, the studio’s guardian firm, Activision Blizzard, has been making strikes that can undermine that help and make it more durable for staff to arrange. This morning, Activision VP of QA Chris Arends despatched the clearest message but about the place executives stand on the unionization effort, and (spoiler) it is firmly towards.
In an inner, locked Slack channel on Monday morning, Arends requested himself six questions in regards to the potential union and supplied solutions for workers from Activision’s perspective, as shared on Twitter by union organizer Jessica Gonzalez. Workers had been unable to answer the message. Every reply diminished the advantages of unionization, however the fourth immediate supplied probably the most express takedown of the group course of. It reads as follows: 
We heard that the union will shield workers and supply workers with job safety?
Job safety right here at ABK rests with our capability to supply epic leisure for our followers. A union would not do something to assist us produce world-class video games, and the bargaining course of will not be usually fast, usually reduces flexibility, and might be adversarial and result in unfavourable publicity. All of this might damage our capability to proceed creating nice video games.
The fifth reply argued that union-driven bargaining takes too lengthy to be efficient, stating the apparent within the course of: “A unionized firm can’t act rapidly by itself if the union doesn’t agree with its place.” The ultimate reply reminded workers that they do not must vote in favor of the union when an election takes place.
On Twitter, Gonzalez known as the put up “unhappy.”
That is the newest transfer from Activision designed to halt momentum on the unionization course of at Raven. Simply three days after workers introduced that they had gathered a supermajority of signatures required to unionize beneath the identify Sport Employees Alliance, Raven head Brian Raffel revealed a reorganization plan that breaks up the studio’s QA division, transferring workers to disparate groups.
Communications Employees of America, which is backing GWA, mentioned on Twitter that the shuffle was “nothing greater than a tactic to thwart Raven QA staff who’re exercising their proper to arrange.”
Activision additionally didn’t voluntarily acknowledge GWA, which implies they’re going to have to hunt a vote by means of the NLRB, a course of that may take years. Moreover, Activision is pushing for the vote to incorporate all workers at Raven, somewhat than solely QA staff, lowering the potential for fulfillment.
Arends’ Slack message — making an attempt to persuade workers that unions will make their works lives slower and crappier — falls in step with Activision’s earlier ways. 
Activision Blizzard is at the moment the topic of intense scrutiny from a number of angles. GWA would be the first union at a AAA sport improvement studio in North America, probably setting the stage for extra group throughout the business. Plus, Activision Blizzard is the topic of a lawsuit and a number of investigations into reviews of systemic gender discrimination and sexual harassment on the studio, with incidents allegedly relationship again a long time. 
And eventually, Microsoft is within the course of of shopping for Activision Blizzard, Raven Software program and all, in a deal price $69 billion. It will be the most important acquisition in online game historical past and it marks the business’s period of consolidation. In the future after information of the acquisition went reside, Activision advised the SEC that there have been no unionization efforts underway at its studios, although within the months earlier than, executives advised Raven workers to “think about the implications” of signing union playing cards.All merchandise advisable by Engadget are chosen by our editorial group, impartial of our guardian firm. A few of our tales embrace affiliate hyperlinks. Should you purchase one thing by means of one in all these hyperlinks, we might earn an affiliate fee.

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