Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.S. labor board judge orders union vote at Activision studio

Published 04/22/2022, 07:38 PM
Updated 04/22/2022, 07:45 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Activision booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Activision booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake

By Julia Love

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A regional director for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board on Friday ordered a union election for a group of workers at an Activision Blizzard-owned studio that works on the popular "Call of Duty" franchise, overruling objections from the company.

In a 27-page decision, Jennifer Hadsall, a regional director in Minneapolis, ordered ballots to be mailed to employees on April 29. Workers will have until May 20 to return their ballots, and counting will begin on May 23, per the decision.

The election will cover roughly 21 workers in the quality assurance department at Raven (NASDAQ:RAVN) Software in Middleton, Wisconsin. The workers will vote on whether to join the Communications Workers of America, a union that has played an active role in organizing tech employees in recent months.

The vote also comes amid a surge in labor activity by workers in the tech sector. Employees at an Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) warehouse in Staten Island, New York recently voted to unionize and workers at an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) store in Atlanta filed a petition for a union election.

An Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) spokesperson said the company was "reviewing legal options regarding a potential appeal."

"We are disappointed that a decision that could significantly impact the future of our entire studio will be made by fewer than 10% of our employees," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We believe a direct relationship with team members is the best path to achieving individual and company goals."

Activision had urged the NLRB to dismiss the petition for a union election, citing a recent reorganization, and argued that any vote on unionization should be conducted among a much larger group of employees. But Hadsall ruled that the proposed unit should stand, finding that the QA testers that the union seeks to represent have a "meaningfully distinct collective-bargaining interest."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Activision booth is shown at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake

In recent months, Activision Blizzard workers have banded together to try to influence the company's future, including staging a walkout and circulating a petition calling for the removal of Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced plans to acquire Activision in January.

The NLRB decision was previously reported by Bloomberg.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.