After failing to prevent the Albany team from securing the initial vote right, Activision Blizzard now demands the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to prevent tabulation. The company wants to postpone the vote validation until its previous appeal against the case has been heard. The studio also argues that any confirmation of the Albany votes on November 18, ahead of their own case closure, could influence or prejudice the voter pool ahead of any potential “studio-wide” unionization process.


The official statement of Activision Blizzard reads as follows:


We deeply respect our employees’ right to choose whether to be represented by a union and to make an informed decision for themselves in a process where every voice is heard. Given the significant impact this decision could have for everyone on the Albany-based Diablo team and the tight integration of our operations there, we believe strongly that each of the 107 eligible employees deserves to have their votes counted, not just the 18 quality assurance testers who are important employees but make up a small fraction of the team.”


A representative for the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Sara Steffens does not agree with this statement, arguing that Activision Blizzard simply wants to delay the unionization process:


“Sadly, it’s no surprise that a company that has repeatedly tried to silence its employees, including by hiding reports of sexual violence, would want to muzzle workers’ voices once again by trying to stop them from voting in a union election.


Workers have concluded that they need to protect themselves from this abusive employer by joining together into a strong union. Instead of staying neutral, Activision’s management continues to present the same failing arguments in a desperate attempt to interfere with workers’ legal right to make their own decisions about forming a union and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.


We are confident in the NLRB’s response to these frivolous requests, and we will continue to push for Activision Blizzard employees’ right to organize without delay.”

We will see what the future brings in that regard but it’s never boring at Activision Blizzard, that’s for sure.