Blizzard Albany might have gotten the inexperienced mild to kind a union however its dad or mum firm apparently isn’t above conjuring up all types of hurdles to delay the studio’s QA staff from unionizing. Blizzard Leisure (the dad or mum firm) has filed a request for assessment with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board which successfully impounds all union election ballots till the assessment could be accomplished.
Within the submitting, Blizzard supplied the identical arguments that it used earlier this 12 months to forestall Raven Software program QA staff from unionizing. In line with the corporate, the QA staff from its Albany studio shouldn’t be capable of steer the choice of all the studio and all 100 of its staff and that everybody needs to be entitled to vote on the unionization.
“Activision desires what’s greatest for all the staff, together with a clear and democratic course of for all staff,” a Blizzard spokersperson stated. “We’re involved that 18 people can have the voting energy to find out the destiny of greater than 100 staff and that’s why we advocate for all staff to have a vote.”
This argument has didn’t persuade the Nationwide Labor Relations board again then and it very possible gained’t stick proper now because the formation of a QA union will solely have an effect on the QA division and different departments will nonetheless be free to arrange their very own unions.
Three-year Albany QA tester Amanda Laven asserts this reality and maintains that the QA division isn’t making selections for any of the opposite departments within the studio nor have they bargained for the opposite departments’ wages or advantages. The veteran QA tester claims that the request for a assessment is simply Blizzard’s means of delaying the election till the Microsoft buyout pushes by way of.
Whether or not the labor board will scrap the request nonetheless stays to be seen. In any case, the Blizzard Albany union election is predicted to be accomplished by the top of this week.
Regardless of ABK’s try to delay the vote, staff are unfazed. “It’s actually necessary for individuals to band collectively, take again their energy & have a say of their office… and for too lengthy, that has been within the arms of only a few.” @WeAreGWAAlbany https://t.co/fbX8LXUQ9A
— CODE-CWA (@CODE_CWA) November 16, 2022
