Activision - Raven Software Employees Vote to Form Union

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GamesIndustry.biz reports the progress of Raven Software employees' endeavour to unionize.

Call of Duty QA workers vote to unionize

78% of Raven Software testers vote to form union, ask Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize a group of 34 members

QA testers at Raven Software have voted to unionize with the Communication Workers of America, according to a Polygon report.

A CWA representative told the site that 78% of eligible QA workers voted in favor of unionization, and they are asking Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize the union, which is calling itself the Game Workers Alliance. The bargaining unit would consist of 34 employees.

"We ask that Activision Blizzard management respect Raven QA workers by voluntarily recognizing CWA's representation without hesitation," CWA secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens said. "A collective bargaining agreement will give Raven QA employees a voice at work, improving the games they produce and making the company stronger. Voluntary recognition is the rational way forward."

A number of Raven Software QA employees have been on strike since early December, demanding that contracted members of the QA team that were recently laid off -- the publisher said it declined to extend their agreements -- be offered the chance to return in a full-time position. [...]

Update: An Activision Blizzard representative provided a comment to GamesIndustry.biz, saying, "Activision Blizzard is carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition from the CWA, which seeks to organize around three dozen of the company's nearly 10,000 employees. While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union. [...]
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I'd say good for them but unions nowadays are not a good idea. Sure it's harder to get fired but the union fees are ridiculous. One job I had was $50-$100 a week.
 
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They should do it like here : Strike if they don't get paid, and the industry *must* pay because it's the law - and they cannot be fired because of that.
 
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I'd say good good them but unions nowadays are not a good idea. Sure it's harder to get fired but the union fees are ridiculous. One job I had was $50-$100 a week.

That's crazy. Over here they are considerably less, and what's more, they work. (Or don't as the case may be, and then do once they get paid what they want :biggrin:)
You muricans get ripped off, even by the people who are meant to be looking out for you.

Edit: to illustrate, my wife is a teacher and pays $12.70 a week (NZD, so that's more like $8 USD), and union action resulted in a 18.5% pay rise over two years (admittedly, it was way overdue).
 
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Not a fan of unions, rampant corruption and favoritism games. There are good reasons union membership is low these days. I purposely ignore the union at my job when they keep begging me to join. Never have said one word in reply to their text messages and their emails.
 
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That's crazy. Over here they are considerably less, and what's more, they work. (Or don't as the case may be, and then do once they get paid what they want :biggrin:)
You muricans get ripped off, even by the people who are meant to be looking out for you.

Edit: to illustrate, my wife is a teacher and pays $12.70 a week (NZD, so that's more like $8 USD), and union action resulted in a 18.5% pay rise over two years (admittedly, it was way overdue).
Yep it's usually 10-15% of your weekly check that goes to the union.

Nowadays the biggest Unions are run like the Mafia.:lol:
 
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That's crazy. Over here they are considerably less, and what's more, they work. (Or don't as the case may be, and then do once they get paid what they want :biggrin:)
You muricans get ripped off, even by the people who are meant to be looking out for you.

Edit: to illustrate, my wife is a teacher and pays $12.70 a week (NZD, so that's more like $8 USD), and union action resulted in a 18.5% pay rise over two years (admittedly, it was way overdue).
Most of the USA has what we call "right to work" laws, which mean you cannot be obligated to join the union or pay its fees, but their negotiations and negotiated contracts still cover you. So really, your dues are $0 if you want them to be. Of course, you won't be entitled to benefits coming directly from the union, like a pension (good chance that those high membership dues that were mentioned were largely for a pension). Only places without right-to-work are the northeast, and a handful of mostly left-wing states in the midwest and west.
 
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Most of the USA has what we call "right to work" laws, which mean you cannot be obligated to join the union or pay its fees, but their negotiations and negotiated contracts still cover you. So really, your dues are $0 if you want them to be. Of course, you won't be entitled to benefits coming directly from the union, like a pension (good chance that those high membership dues that were mentioned were largely for a pension). Only places without right-to-work are the northeast, and a handful of mostly left-wing states in the midwest and west.
27 states out of 50 have given workers a choice when it comes to union membership. I lived in Illinois and Connecticut and had to pay dues to work. So no choice was given.

On the plus side unions are not that popular so it was only certain jobs.
 
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Only 27 states have given workers a choice when it comes to union membership.
I think it's actually 28 now, but I'm pretty sure it covers a majority of the population, as most of the 22 that don't have it are fairly low-pop states. Of course, there are a few gorillas in there like CA, NY, IL...

2017-with-Kentucky.jpg
 
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My company was bought by one Canadian based corporation. We are IT software company for business applications.
So one guy who was going to get fired created union because in my country head of the union can't be fired.
Now 4-5 years later he started recruiting and expanding.
I am making fun of them, but they are expanding really fast, mainly in the middle management because they are only in fear of loosing job. :D

I stated few points if they wanted me to join union.
1. Coat of arms
2. Flag
3. Anthem
4. Trumpeter that will follow me and trumpet every time I walk on the halls of the company.
5. Official procedure to request union to break someone legs.

They think I am joking.
:)
 
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It was just a matter of time, good on them, hope they don't blow it with too much ego powerplay though. I'm amazed Amazon doesn't have one yet TBH.
 
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My union was powerful and didn't mess around. Charged one hour of pay per week. I was in law enforcement though and you need the union lawyers if something goes down. Something always goes down in law enforcement.
 
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Look at that map Stingray posted. Low education and low-income states are the right-to-work states. Except for a few like Michigan and Wisconsin. If all of the south has something you know it's stupid.
 
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When I was working I never had to work with a union. I've heard both good and ill about them, I suppose like any organization that there's a chance that something created to help employees could easily become corrupted. You just need the proper checks and balances in place to make that difficult.
 
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In one company we had a union. That granted us 150%-200% salary when working the weekend or at night, and since it happened often when we had to install new equipment in hospitals, it was interesting. :D

Doing the same in other companies was just work as usual, no benefits. Not that I minded.
 
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If all of the south and/or Michigan has something you know it's stupid.

Fixed that for you. ;)

Unions are a mixed bag. I was in one for a long time when I worked in the casino industry. Most do protect the workers in a lot of ways, but they also create something for the lazy ones to hide behind.
 
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I come from a place where unions are par for the course.

To me, it's hard to imagine US work conditions (for the average American) being worse by having a Union - but you never know.
 
Same here, unions are a fact of life here (still, most employees aren't members), and I regularly ask myself why workers in the US take all this shit instead of fighting back. To me, it seems, people there have swallowed the corporate "unions are bad" propaganda hook, line and sinker. Sure there can be corruption, etc. - this can happen everywhere - but without unions, you have it automatically, with the corporations automatically winning and the employees automatically loosing. So, basically, you have the choice of making the corporations stronger by doing nothing or risk something to strengthen the workers. But to me, the US is a huge example in "bad decision making" anyway (not the only one, of course).
 
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I think it all ties into the myth of wealth = smart or talented person.

When the wealthy hold all the power - and you're taught from the start that being wealthy happens to smart people who work hard, then they sort of have no choice but to submit or become wealthy themselves.

The myth, of course, tends to omit the detail of how it's impossible for the masses to become wealthy - because that would mean taking something away from the powerful - so only a few people can achieve it.

On top of that, I think there's a relatively widespread mistrust in the government - for very good reason, as it's obviously incredibly inept and corrupt - so who else would call the shots?

I don't know, it's hard.

The blame game is easy, though. I wouldn't blame the elite myself. As they're just human beings being human and taking what they can. That's true for almost all human beings.

The system will obviously have to seriously adjust within a relatively short time - as it's clearly breaking down before our eyes.

Not sure what the outcome will be, but I fear it won't be pretty - and, sadly, it will not just affect Americans - but the entire world.
 
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