Activision Workers Ask Labor Board for Union Election (1)

Activision Blizzard Inc. workers have asked the federal labor board to hold a formal union election after the company rejected their request for voluntary recognition.

The proposed union consists of about two dozen quality assurance testers at Activision-owned Raven Software. The group filed a petition for representation, the first step in initiating a secret ballot election, with the National Labor Relations Board’s Milwaukee office, agency spokeswoman Kayla Blado said Wednesday in an email.

The request comes as Microsoft Corp. prepares to buy Activision for $69 billion, the deal expected to close in fiscal 2023. The acquisition could stymie the union effort if Microsoft reorganizes Activision.

The NLRB is likely to grant an election but could complicate the union’s endeavor by expanding the bargaining unit to include more workers from other departments, as it did in recent organizing efforts at Amazon.com Inc. and Nissan Motor Co. facilities. Larger units are seen as harder to organize.

Responding to a request for comment, an Activision spokesman referenced a Tuesday statement saying the company would respond “promptly” to CWA’s petition but that “across the company, we believe that a direct relationship between managers and team members allows us to quickly respond and deliver the strongest results and opportunities for employees.”

—With assistance from Maeve Allsup