Raven Software workers in charge of quality assurance on Call of Duty: Warzone have formed a union dubbed the Game Workers Alliance which is part of the Communication Workers of America (CWA).
Activision Blizzard employees have been threatening to unionize ever since they went on strike seven weeks ago, and of the Raven QA testers, 34 workers have decided to unionize.
“Today, I am proud to join with a supermajority of my fellow workers to build our union, Game Workers Alliance (GWA),” said Raven Software tester Becka Aigner in a press release. “In the video game industry, specifically Raven QA, people are passionate about their jobs and the content they are creating. We want to make sure that the passion from these workers is accurately reflected in our workplace and the content we make. Our union is how our collective voices can be heard by leadership.”
With help from the CWA, the plan is to focus on providing a “workplace where all workers can thrive, and set a new standard for workers across the industry moving forward.” The Game Workers Alliance also wants to ensure employees do not go into “Crunch”, they want leadership to “communicate openly and frequently about any decisions that will affect the working life of their employees,” to ensure that QA testers get “appropriate compensation, and career development opportunities,” due to being an “essential role in the development process.” The group also wants all walks of life to be heard by superiors by “empowering underrepresented voices.”
“We ask that Raven Software and Activision leadership voluntarily recognize our union and respect our right to organize without retaliation or interference,” said the GWA. “We aim to work together with leadership to create a healthy and prosperous work environment for all people, to develop successful and sustainable products, and to support the enjoyment of our players.”
Microsoft announced earlier this week its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, which is one of the largest buyouts of all time, especially in the game industry.
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