Blizzard Albany QA workers under Activision Blizzard win union vote

Activision Blizzard quality assurance workers at the company’s Blizzard Albany studio in upstate New York voted Friday in favor of forming a union. It’s the second union under Activision Blizzard, following Raven Software’s vote in May.

Game Workers Alliance Albany was a group of 20 QA workers. After Activision Blizzard asked that the election delay be done for a review by the board, the vote was allowed to proceed in October. This request was denied by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday. Activision Blizzard, like Raven Software wanted the whole studio to vote for the union.

Blizzard Albany’s QA workers have been voting in the lead-up to the count, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 18 but was delayed due to bad weather — a blizzard. On Friday, the election results came in: 14 “yes” votes on the union, with no votes against it. The NLRB stated that 18 voters were eligible, and three votes had been challenged. GWA Albany is represented by Communications Workers of America – Campaign to Organize Digital Employees. (CODE-CWA).

Blizzard Albany associate test analyst Amanda Deep said in a statement that the group was inspired by Raven Software’s QA union, and that GWA Albany hopes to inspire more video game studios to unionize.

“It took an unbelievable amount of work and perseverance to move this fight forward,” Deep said. “With this victory, we’re advocating for ourselves and each other because we care deeply about our work and the games we make. Organizing has empowered all of us to fight hard for the dignity and respect every worker deserves on the job.”

Polygon was contacted by an Activision Blizzard spokesperson who provided the following statement:

With a view to what’s best for everyone and providing the best possible games for millions of our players, we are looking at all possibilities. Our belief is that all members of the Albany team should be able to vote. This is all about fairness and fundamental rights for each member of our team.

GWA Albany has announced that it will unionize this July. Following Friday’s vote, the workers will begin preparing for contract bargaining after the results are certified by the NLRB. Raven Software’s QA union is currently in bargaining with Activision Blizzard leadership.

Activision Blizzard was accused of union-busting in the lead-up to Blizzard Albany’s union election. In October, CWA filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the company after its chief communications officer, Lulu Cheng Meservey, published a companywide Slack message “disparaging the union,” according to the complaint. That message recieved a lot of negative emoji reactions in Slack from employees, which Meservey acknowledged, although she called the complaint “bogus” in statements to the press at the time.

Blizzard Albany’s QA workers, like the rest of Blizzard Albany, focus largely on the Diablo franchise — particularly Diablo 4, The game is set to go live in 2023. Activision Blizzard used this game to argue that all Blizzard Albion (formerly Vicarious Visions), workers should vote. QA workers are some of the industry’s most vulnerable, often due to low pay and intense crunch.

“Albany Blizzard workers never wavered in the face of adversity,” CWA secretary-treasurer Tara Steffens said in a statement. “Instead, they remained resilient and steadfast, which is a testament to the organizing they’ve done to ensure quality assurance workers are treated with fairness and respect for the work that they do. QA workers at Blizzard Albany and Raven Software have elevated the conversation around unions in the video game industry, and they’ve also opened the door for other studios to organize.”

Like the rest of Activision Blizzard, Blizzard Albany will be merged with Microsoft following approval of Microsoft’s $68.7B purchase of Activision Blizzard. Should that deal go through, Microsoft has said it will not impede union efforts — in fact, it will stay “neutral” on them, after signing an agreement with CWA. This agreement is expected to go into effect 60 days following the deal’s closure.

GWA Albany joins Activision’s second union shop. It is also part of growing movements in unionizing video game workers. This union joins the ones at BioWare support company Keywords Studios, and independent company Tender Claws. Interest in unions extends to board games, tabletop and beyond. Even though membership is declining, this support mirrors the national trend.