Another group of workers at Microsoft-owned Blizzard have voted to form a union, with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) set to represent them. The CWA say that this union will be made up of “nearly 400” workers across Blizzard’s platform and technology department.
Their action follows the formation of a number of other unions at Blizzard over the past couple of years, with developers on World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo all having recently secured representation.
According to a CWA press release, this latest union is made up of software engineers, project and product managers, graphic designers on Battle.net, localisers, QA testers, and customer support staff. It’s already been formally recognised by Blizzard parent company Microsoft.
“I’ve seen too many of my talented coworkers leave the company, either due to layoffs, a lack of fair compensation, or proper accommodations not being met,” said Blizzard senior quality analyst and organising committee member Timothy Biley. “I’m extremely happy that we, the workers, have greater control over our workplace and that we finally have a seat at the table to truly make Blizzard a company we are proud to work for.”
“Blizzard workers in Texas are joining a new generation of video game developers who know their worth and are standing up for it,” the CWA’s Ron Swaggerty added. “Together with our siblings in California and beyond, they’re proving that no matter where you work, organizing is how we make this industry sustainable for the people who power it.”
A large number of staff at Microsoft have unionised in recent years, from workers at Call of Duty developer Raven Software, to Fallout and Elder Scrolls studio Bethesda, and Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax. Given the cuts and cancellations the company have dished out since they absorbed ActiBlizz, it’s not hard to see why folks are seeking these protections.
Solidarity to these freshly-unionised Blizzard workers.
