Activision-Blizzard Promotes US-Based QA Workers to Full Time Staff After Strike, Union Efforts
Activision-Blizzard will convert all contract QA workers to full-time employees at rates starting at $20 an hour.
Josh Taub, Activision Publishing’s chief operating officer, sent an email to employees informing them of these plans. He also confirmed that those who are promoted will be eligible for full benefits and bonuses. Polygon received the email. It reads like this:
Mike Ybarra was the head of Blizzard after Jen Oneal left and J. Allen Brack was removed. He also sent an email to employees regarding the shift.
It is not surprising that neither email mentions the fact that unionizing workers at Raven Software, a studio owned by Activision Blizzard, went on strike over the company’s treatment and lay-offs. The move is seen as part of a natural evolution of its workforce to achieve “Blizzard-quality” output and keep pace with the content rollout of the Call of Duty franchise.
After all the legalities are over, almost 1,100 employees will be promoted to full-time. This is good news for QA workers who have been fighting for full-time jobs with benefits. However, Activision-Blizzard still has a lot of work to do as it struggles to recover from the harassment lawsuit that it was hit with. The tangible results of the worker demonstrations in the months since then have been encouraging .
UpdateA representative from Activision-Blizzard stated that this decision had nothing to do the Raven strike. However, those who were affected are allowed to apply for new positions at the company if desired to receive all the benefits and bonuses.
The statement states that the conversion of almost 1,100 QA workers at Activision or Blizzard has no relation to the petition pending in Raven studio. Raven is the only situation. Testers whose contracts were not extended were encouraged to apply for any job at the company.
Update:It appears that Raven’s workers will not be eligible for the Activision-Blizzard subsidiary pay increase. According to Bloomberg, this is “due to legal requirements under the National Labor Relations Act.” The Activision-Blizzard doubled down on this, stating that “whether Raven workers decide to unionize has not to do with the salary rises elsewhere for Activision’s QA employees.” We reached out to CODE-CWA for clarification. CODE-CWA represents Raven in its unionization efforts.
Update: In a statement issued to Fanbyte, CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens called Activision-Blizzard’s exclusion of Raven QA workers in pay raises as “an effort to divide workers and undermine their effort to form a union,” and called its initial announcement “disingenuous.” The full statement reads as follows:
Steffens states, “Make no mistake, Activision Blizzard deserves all credit for its latest move to give full-time employment to all contingent and temporary QA team members.” It’s particularly galling that Activision has denied Raven Software QA workers these benefits.
They have been the ones who spearheaded this effort. It is clear that Activision’s claim that the National Labor Relations Act prohibits them from including Raven workers is an attempt to divide workers and weaken their efforts to form a union (Game Workers Alliance, CWA). Activision’s disingenuous announcement further demonstrates the importance of workers having a protected voice on the job. We urge Activision Blizzard immediately to correct this situation and to respect Raven QA workers’ legal right to organize.
