Raven Software has ended its strike, and have announced that it is starting the process of forming a union.
Back in December, a dozen employees were fired from Raven Software, some of whom had moved for the role. Since then, staff at the studio have been on strike for weeks following the incident. And on January 21, the QA testers announced their intent to begin the process of unionising. Following this, they have also said they plan to end the strike “pending the recognition of our union.”
In a statement posted by the ABK Workers Alliance Twitter account, the staff wrote “Pending the recognition of our union, the Raven QA strike has ended. Unused strike funds are being stored for future organizing/strike efforts.”
An Activision Blizzard spokesman told Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier that the company is “carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company’s nearly 10,000 employees.” If the language seems strange to you, it’s because Activision Blizzard are likely trying to downplay the significance of the union. The company knows that if Raven Software successfully forms a union, then other studios might follow suit.
Staff that were fired back in December still have not been rehired. But it’s likely that their rehiring will be a part of the bargaining process. The action at Raven Software follows months of missteps and alleged misconduct that has taken place at Activision Blizzard. The company was also recently acquired by Microsoft, potentially marking a change for Activision Blizzard.
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Featured Image Credit: Raven Software