Boston-based employee world of warcraft Support studio Proletariat (also known as Blizzard Boston) has dropped a petition with the National Labor Relations Board and will not vote for the union. They announced their petition in late December, but withdrew the application on Tuesday.
Communications Workers of America representatives have used management’s “confrontational tactics”, claiming that a series of meetings held by the company demoralized and disempowered the group, making free and fair elections impossible. condemned.
The Proletariat Workers Alliance wanted to ensure that the company’s current paid leave plans, flexible remote options, medical benefits, and ensuring transparency and diversity were top priorities.
The workers of the proletariat will not vote for the union because the petition has been withdrawn.
“We appreciate the unilateral decision by CWA to withdraw the petition in response to feedback from our employees,” Joe Christinat, vice president of media relations, said in a statement to Polygon. “As we said, we welcomed the opportunity for each employee to safely express their preferences through a secret ballot.The team at Proletariat do an exceptional job every day. Together with , we remain committed to keeping the proletariat a place where everyone can grow, thrive and be part of a great team and culture.”
Proletariat software engineer Dustin Yost said in a statement issued through the CWA that initially the majority of workers supported the union. The employee said a “meeting to frame the conversation as a personal betrayal” to management had taken a toll on that support. We sincerely hope that they will prioritize our concerns, but we still believe unions are the best way to ensure that our voices are heard by industry workers.” Yost said.
Kat Dolan, user interface artist and user experience designer at Proletariat, told Polygon. Dolan disputed the characterization that management had withdrawn from union efforts. She added that some workers felt “disillusioned” with the process and that things might have ended differently had they been approached differently.
The Proletariat Workers Alliance was scheduled to vote on the National Labor Relations Board — the same process both Raven Software and Blizzard Albany’s QA union went through. Activision Blizzard challenged the election in both studio lawsuits, and he sought to expand the proposed negotiating unit beyond QA testers.
Companies sometimes fight to increase the size of their units in order to undermine the efforts of union organizations to increase the likelihood that union votes will fail.But NLRB Ruling In 2022, it will be easier for organizers to unionize small groups (called micro-units) within companies. This puts the burden on companies to provide compelling evidence that the group needs to open up.
The CWA has filed multiple unfair labor complaints against Activision Blizzard for alleged union-busting tactics. A representative for Activision Blizzard has denied any wrongdoing.
Seth Sivak founded Proletariat in 2012, an independently operated studio working on games such as: spell break When stream legend Until Activision Blizzard acquires the studio in 2022. world of warcraftSoftware engineer developer Allison Brown told Polygon earlier in January that union talks began before the acquisition, but it was around rumors of working with the company.
“Suddenly there was a fear that by becoming part of a larger organization, we would lose some of what made the proletariat so special,” Brown said.
She continues: […], things can change. I started working in this industry 14 years before him and have been laid off more than once. I’ve seen profits change and get worse. You can’t control it. But if we are collectively bargaining, if we get these things in writing, we have mechanisms in place to make sure we have a say. ”
After the petition was published, the leaders of the proletariat Published a blog Refusing to recognize the union of the proletariat, the union was forced to vote in the National Labor Relations Committee. Proletarian leaders described the company as “worker-friendly” and hinted that some workers had concerns, so management requested an anonymous vote.
Activision Blizzard’s response to previous unionization efforts contrasted with Microsoft’s so-called Labor Neutrality Pact. The agreement, signed with the CWA, provides Microsoft with the right to any current Microsoft employee or any employee who may join Microsoft as part of the $68.7 billion transaction to acquire Activision Blizzard. It means not interfering with organizing efforts in the company. Commission litigation).
The agreement was put to the test late last year when the QA guys at ZeniMax Media, responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout, announced their intentions to form a union. Microsoft agreed to approve the union after a quick vote outside the NLRB. Thanks to the Neutrality Pact, the company was able to circumvent a lot of bureaucracy. ZeniMax QA workers voted through the union’s certification card and online portal, with an overwhelming majority of workers expressing support for the union.
Update (Jan 9th): This story has been updated to include comments from Activision Blizzard.
Update (January 10th): Monday, leadership of the proletariat Published a blog post Refusing to recognize the union of the proletariat, the union was forced to vote in the National Labor Relations Committee. Proletarian leaders described the company as “worker-oriented”.
The Union of Proletariat Workers disputed this, saying it was anti-union not to recognize the overwhelming majority of signed union cards. It falls outside the union-busting tactics used by the company,” the workers wrote in a statement. “Management held a town hall last week to the dismay of many employees. The meeting was inappropriate due to its anti-union influence.”
The worker continued: No management help needed. We need and deserve respect and neutrality. We want to do it right as a team and work with management without competing. By supporting each other, we can make the proletariat the best it can be. ”
Update (Jan 24th): Proletariat workers withdrew their union’s petition on 24 January. This article has been updated to reflect that new information.
Update (Jan 24th): Activision Blizzard responded to the withdrawn CWA petition:
We appreciate the CWA’s unilateral decision to withdraw the petition in response to employee feedback. As already mentioned, we welcomed the opportunity for each employee to safely express their preferences through confidential voting. The team at Proletariat do an exceptional job every day. Together with the team, they remain focused on keeping the Proletariat a place where everyone can grow, thrive and be part of a great team and culture.
Update (Jan 25th): This story has been updated to include comments from another proletariat worker.
