Microsoft will recognize and respect the rights of Activision Blizzard workers if they decide to join a union.
The software company announced on Monday that it would enter a labor-neutrality agreement with Communications Workers of America, which would allow company employees to unionize if they deemed it a wise decision, without interference from executives at Activision Blizzard or Microsoft. The agreement is the first in the technology industry’s history and could help set the tone for future negotiations between video game developers and their employers.
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This agreement means that Microsoft will “respect the right of our employees to make informed decisions on their own,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Washington Post. “It means that we don’t try to put a thumb on the scale to influence or pressure them. We give people the opportunity to exercise their right to choose by voting. … It’s something that’s respectful of everyone, more amicable, and avoids business disruption.”
The agreement specifically states that employees can speak with other employees and union representatives about organizing and now have a private, streamlined process for doing so. CWA and Microsoft must also work together to reach a consensus or turn to an arbitration process if the two entities cannot resolve disagreements.
The agreement set between CWA and Microsoft would also act as the basis for any future attempts to organize unions by Microsoft employees.
The agreement arrived a week after the software company posted “new principles for employee organizing” on June 2. “We recognize that there may be times when some employees in some countries may wish to form or join a union,” the guidelines said.
Microsoft announced in January 2022 that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, best known for its Overwatch, Diablo, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft franchises, for nearly $69 billion. The acquisition arrived months after the company had come under additional scrutiny for its workplace practices and sexual harassment in the workplace. This scrutiny inspired several of its workers to begin pursuing unionization.
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Quality assurance testers at Raven Software, a smaller game studio that has cooperated with Activision in the past, announced in January 2022 that it was forming a union called the Game Workers Alliance in partnership with CWA. The group of testers successfully organized the union in May 2022, and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in June that he recognized the union and would begin negotiations with it. Xbox head Phil Spencer also confirmed during an internal all-hands meeting that he would recognize the GWA union.
Video game studio unions in the United States are still a relatively new development. Indie game developer Vodeo Games was not recognized by management as the first video game studio union until December 2021. There is also a growing effort among a variety of retail and technology companies pushing for unionization, including Amazon and Starbucks.
