Call of Duty publisher accused of anti-union behaviour yet again

Activision Blizzard, which has used anti-union tactics in the past, is accused of doing it again — this time directed at their Albany branch.

Call of Duty publisher accused of anti-union behaviour yet again

Employees at Blizzard Albany have accused Activision Blizzard, publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, of anti-union activities. The publisher giant, currently awaiting a buyout from Microsoft to the tune of $100 billion AUD, has rehired an organisation that offers union-busting services.

The Albany Game Workers Alliance, which is employee-led collective fighting for better working conditions, stated that Activision Blizzard has hired Reed Smith, which is a company that offers anti-union services, instead of recognising the union voluntarily.

“Instead of following Microsoft’s lead and committing to a labour neutrality agreement, Activision has made the clear and conscious decision to deny us our basic labour rights while once again spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a union-busting firm,” the group released in a statement.

The AGWA is unionising in an effort to receive better pay, healthcare, and work/life balance, which refers to ending ‘crunch’, a form of overtime that is mandatory — in some cases, reaching 14-hour days and seven-day weeks. The rehiring of Reed Smith is a “futile effort” to “delay recognition,” according to the press release.

Activision Blizzard is publishes several hit games, such as the card battler Hearthstone. Picture: Activision Blizzard

When gaming outlet Kotaku reached out for comment, Activision Blizzard stated the following: “Given the significant impact this change could have for roughly 150 people in Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions), we believe every employee in Albany who works on Diablo should have a direct say in this decision; it should not be made by fewer than 15% of employees.”

This is not an unusual stance for the publisher. Previously, unionisation efforts at Raven Software, a support company for Call of Duty development, were stalled briefly by anti-union tactics, such as shuffling the staff unionising around the company, or arguing that either the entire company unionises or no one does. This delayed the union vote severely, but it did not stop it — Raven Software unionised shortly afterwards.

Activision Blizzard is a whirlwind of news lately — the company recently scrapped a mobile game that has been in the works for three years and lost over 30 million users in a single year for its flagship title, Call of Duty. The deal involving Microsoft is reported to resolve before summer 2023.

Original reporting by Kotaku.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.