Despite Activision's Attempt To Stop It, Blizzard Albany Gets Union Vote Greenlight

The National Labor Relations Board has just ruled on Tuesday that 21 QA workers at Blizzard Albany could vote in a union election The Washington Post reports. “I’m very happy and excited that we can move forward with voting for our union,” said Amanda Laven, associate test analyst at Blizzard Albany and member of the new bargaining unit. “I hope that Activision Blizzard will set an example for companies everywhere by not engaging in further union-busting and by working with us in good faith.”

Blizzard, however, decided to argue that the QA workers should only be able to band together and bargain together if they worked under the same game. The NLRB disagreed saying that it had “minimal to no impact on the community of interest among associate test analysts,” if the workers worked under different games.

The NLRB will mail out ballots to eligible employees on October 27, and votes will need to be cast before the close of the business day on November 17. The ballot count will then take place via video conference on November 18.

Blizzard Albany is the second Activision Blizzard studio that has teams that attempting to unionize at the company, which is still facing multiple investigations over sexual harassment.