The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found that Activision Blizzard, known for being the publisher of Overwatch and Call of Duty, withheld pay raises from quality assurance (QA) testers of Raven Software due to their unionization, as per Engadget.
However, Activision Blizzard argues with the said reason, saying that it wasn't possible to offer raises due to legal obligations.
Raven Software QA Employees Successfully Form a Union
Currently, Activision Blizzard is engaged in union bargaining negotiations with Raven Software quality assurance testers who voted to unionize earlier this year.
In January this year, the quality assurance department Raven Software made an announcement that they would unionize.
Reasoning that the union only included 28 employees out of the 230 employees of Raven Software, Activision Blizzard attempted to block the efforts.
Despite the move of Activision Blizzard, QA testers still push through with their unionizing efforts. They operate under the name Game Workers Alliance (GWA).
In May, GWA became an officially recognized union after passing a vote of 19-3.
Eventually, Activision Blizzard converted 1,100 QA contractors to full-time staff during GWA's process of unionizing, as per Engadget. The company increased the minimum wage of workers to $20 per hour.
However, reasoning out that the "company wasn't allowed to change the pay rate of its employees in the midst of a union effort," the QA workers at Raven Software were not granted the wage increase by Activision Blizzard, as per TechCrunch.
Now that GWA is officially recognized as a union, negotiations around a collective bargaining agreement between Activision Blizzard and GWA are ongoing, as per Washington Post.
According to NLRB, in case the QA workers and the company will not meet on certain terms, the board could issue a complaint.
Likewise, if the company refuses to settle, the board could make a move as far as prosecuting the case before a federal judge.
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NLRB's Findings will Likely Favor Raven Software QA Workers
The NLRB's findings will likely favor Raven Software QA employees in their ongoing negotiations with Activision Blizzard, as per Washington Post.
"It's a very preliminary win for the union at this point. It gives them a little bit of leverage," said Wilma Liebman, former chairman of the NLRB.
Meanwhile, according to Activision Blizzard, they could not institute a new pay initiative for Raven Software QA employees while a union election was pending since it would be brand new kinds of compensation changes.
However, NLRB has officially recognized the union's complaint. The board's finding said that it was illegal for Activision Blizzard to withhold wages.
According to TechCrunch, the findings of the board could have an effect on the ongoing negotiation around the collective bargaining agreement between the GWA and Activision Blizzard.
"We're glad the NLRB recognized that Activision acted illegally when they unequally enforced policies by withholding company-wide benefits and wage increases from Raven workers for organizing," the GWA said.
According to current Raven Software employees, more than the pay increase, the bigger victory that they can get from the current situation would be having Activision admit that what they did was unlawful.
Related Article: Activision Blizzard Converts 1,100 US-Based QA Employees Full-Time Employment, Raises Base Wages
