Only a few days after Raven Software formally unionized, parent company Activision Blizzard has refused to voluntarily recognize them.
The American game giant (who are being bought by Microsoft and has multiple lawsuits against them) released a statement on Tuesday.
“At Activision Blizzard, we deeply respect the rights of all employees to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union. We carefully reviewed and considered the CWA initial request last week and tried to find a mutually acceptable solution with the CWA that would have led to an expedited election process. Unfortunately, the parties could not reach an agreement.”
The statement continues with managerial doublespeak about how direct communication between managers and employees are vital and an explanation of the changes at Raven Software over the past couple years. The forcible relocation and subsequent termination of multiple Raven Software employees back in December was, for some reason, not mentioned.
With voluntary recognition denied, the 34 Quality Assurance workers who make up the Game Workers Alliance Union must file for a petition from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The fight will not be easy, legally or otherwise, especially in light of Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter reporting a restructure within Raven Software announced by studio head Brian Raffel in an email to employees.