Raven Software Staff Vote To Unionize, But Contract Negotiations Won't Be Easy

The vote means the Game Workers Alliance is the first AAA game union in North America.

QuintLyn Bowers
By QuintLyn Bowers, News Editor Posted:
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Raven Software Union

It is official, Raven Software’s QA workers have voted to form the Game Workers Alliance union. Of the 28 employees that were eligible to vote, 24 actually submitted. Two of the votes were rendered invalid but wouldn’t have made a difference one way or another as the final vote was 19 for and three against.

With the voting finished, the Game Workers Alliance will now allow members to bargain with Activision Blizzard over their contracts rather than simply having to accept what the company gives them, and they will likely start trying to do so soon. But, with Blizzard’s recent attempts to stop the Raven from unionizing in the first place, they’re probably going to make the process as difficult as possible.

Potential hindrances aside, the good news here is that Raven has a place to work from. It may also be the catalyst for other companies to follow suit. Of course, it will take time.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.

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In this article: Blizzard Entertainment, Raven Software.

About the Author

QuintLyn Bowers
QuintLyn Bowers, News Editor

QuintLyn is a long-time lover of all things video game related will happily talk about them to anyone that will listen. She began writing about games for various gaming sites a little over ten years ago and has taken on various roles in the games community.

More Stories by QuintLyn Bowers

Discussion (1)

goobert 3 years ago
This won't make games better, this will just make employees harder to fire and that's the issue in the first place, look at Kotick. Most of the people clamoring for the union are testers which are barely employed in the first place considering the state the games are released to begin with. I've also seen enough smug devs from wow talking down to their playerbase like they're the shit and it's those players the stupid idiots that don't understand fun, last thing I want is for those tumours in the shape of human beings to have a guaranteed position in the company or a better paycheck. What blizzard-activision needs is a big fucking personnel fix, starting from Kotick and all the way down to the receptionist. Big layoffs and only leave people actually interested in devving games inside, not clout-chasers hoping for a blizzard insignia in their resumee or professional victims trying to redecorate the office with their own shade of victimhood and muhracism.

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