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Raven union accuses Microsoft and Activision Blizzard of "bad faith bargaining"

Raven union accuses Microsoft and Activision Blizzard of "bad faith bargaining"

Unionised staff at Raven Software have said that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are not negotiating in good faith. 

That's according to Stephen Totilo's Game File newsletter, who reports that the union has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in which it claims that the Xbox and Call of Duty giants are refusing to bargain in good faith. The complaint is yet to be made public. 

“After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, our members were optimistic that they would progress quickly to a first contract at Raven Software,” the president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Claude Cummings Jr, said. 

“Unfortunately, that has not happened. We encourage Microsoft to address the concerns raised in the Unfair Labor Practice charge and make reaching a fair agreement a priority.”

Asked for comment, a Microsoft rep insisted that the company is "committed to negotiating in good faith.”

The NLRB gave its approval for the Raven union back in April 2022. Xbox recognised the bargaining unit the following month per its labour neutrality agreement with the CWA. Activision Blizzard recognised the union in June 2022 and said it would enter into "good faith negotiations" with the bargaining unit. 


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.