Activision workers become the biggest certified video game union in the U.S.

Over 600 workers at Activision Central Quality Assurance have joined UNI Global Union affiliate Communications Workers of America (CWA), and Microsoft has voluntarily recognized their union.

This win makes Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA the largest group of union-represented workers at any U.S. game studio. The workers are located in California, Texas, and Minnesota.

Over 1,000 video game workers at Microsoft now have union representation with CWA. They are the first to organize at Activision under the labour neutrality agreement between CWA and Microsoft, which took effect after the company acquired Activision Blizzard.

“Microsoft continues to keep its commitment to let workers decide for themselves whether they want a union,” said Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr. “Time and again, other big companies in the industry have made the decision to undermine and attack their own employees when they join together to form a union. Microsoft’s choice will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry.”

“My coworkers and I are excited to announce our union today as members of Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA. We wanted to see improvements in the workplace, including higher wages and getting more career opportunities, and so were eager to unionize,” said Kara Fannon, Functional QA Tester 1 and member of Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA. “We’re ready to grow our careers here and believe that having a strong union contract will set workers and the company up for success.”

Last year, quality assurance workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax studios joined ZeniMax Workers United/CWA. Microsoft also remained neutral during that organizing effort and recognized the union under a similar process. ZeniMax workers are currently negotiating their first contract and have reached groundbreaking agreements on subcontracting and artificial intelligence.

“We maintained our commitment to remain neutral during the organizing campaign, and following this vote, we recognize the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as the bargaining representative for the Activision Publishing Central Quality Assurance employees. We look forward to continuing our positive labour management relationship,” said Amy Pannoni, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, HR Legal at Microsoft.

“We celebrate this victory for better pay and conditions at Activision. In the United States, Microsoft is showing that big tech companies can respect workers’ rights and thrive. We hope to keep working with the company to expand this respectful model labour relations to countries around the world,” said Benjamin Parton, Head of UNI’s ICTS sector.