Activision Blizzard Is Trying to Delay Blizzard Albany's Vote for Unionization

At the end of October, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled out that QA workers at Blizzard Albany have the right to vote for the formation of a union. At the time, it was reported that Activision Blizzard attempted to bust the union effort claiming that all employees of the former Vicarious Visions should participate in the vote but not just the QA team.

However, the NLRB ultimately disagreed and allowed Blizzard Albany's QA testers to vote to form a union. The ballots were already sent out and the results are expected to be announced on November 18.

And now, it's reported that the publisher is asking the NLRB to delay the vote. Activision Blizzard believes that the vote should take place only after its appeal of a previous NLRB decision is fully considered. The company still insists that each of the 107 studio employees should vote instead of only 18 QA testers who, as Activision says, are "important employees but make up a small fraction of the team."

"We deeply respect our employees' right to choose whether to be represented by a union and to make an informed decision for themselves in a process where every voice is heard," Activision's spokesperson said. "Given the significant impact this decision could have for everyone on the Albany-based Diablo team and the tight integration of our operations there, we believe strongly that each of the 107 eligible employees deserves to have their votes counted."

The Communications Workers of America (CWA), the largest media union in the US, soon reacted to Activision's attempt to postpone the vote with its representative saying that the CWA was not surprised by the fact that the publisher which previously "repeatedly tried to silence its employees" would want to do this once again by trying to prevent the formation of the union adding that the company sees unions as a threat.

"Instead of staying neutral, Activision's management continues to present the same failing arguments in a desperate attempt to interfere with workers' legal right to make their own decisions about forming a union and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement," the CWA's Sara Steffens told GamesIndustry.biz. "It's clear the company's executives feel threatened by workers organizing in New York, Wisconsin and across the country."

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