Not only didActivision Blizzardsee a group of its employees unionize against its wishes, but the company is also being accused of acting illegally in attempting to stop that unionization by the country’s top regulating agency when it comes to this area of business. On Monday,Raven Software QA developers formed the first AAA video game unionin the United States, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is accusing Activision of crossing the line to try and stop it.
The vote is a culmination of a unionizing process that wasstarted by Raven Software back in January. It didn’t take long for it to become apparent that Activision would oppose the movement and was almost immediately accused of misleading employees about what a successful process could mean for the company. In fact, the NLRB is claiming the company did more than just mislead people about what would happen if the vote went in a direction it opposed
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According to a Bloomberg report, the agency determined thatActivision engaged in union-busting activitiessuch as threatening staff members and imposing a social media rule that conflicts with US law when it comes to a group of people that are in the process of weighing unionization. Should the company not settle, the agency would issue a formal complaint.
The finding is certainly in line with claims about how Activision has been carrying itself during the process that finally came to a head this week. Members of the staff claimed that the company wassending messages to Raven Software employeesjust ahead of the vote claiming those who voted yes would be skipped over for promotions. Those kinds of threats would definitely come in line with actions the NLRB is accusing the firm of doing.
It’s worth noting that even if Activision - which has denied any wrongdoing - refuses to settle and the NLRB issues an official complaint, the agency does not have the ability to impose punitive damages. However, it can mandate that there be changes such as reversal of policies or posting of notices.
Now that the government agency has issued the ruling againstActivision Blizzard, even if the punishment is eventually deemed to be light, it does appear to be another strike in the court of public opinion against the company that has been accused of quite a bit of wrongdoing over the last few years. For now, the ball is in theCall of Dutydeveloper’s court as to how it responds to this latest action.
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