Raven Software QA workers allowed to move forward with union vote

The National Labor Relations Board in the US has ruled in favour of allowing Raven Software's quality assurance workers to vote on unionising.

As reported by Polygon, the NLRB ruled on Friday (April 22) that the 21-person team will be able to vote on whether a union is formed or not. Raven Software parent company Activision Blizzard sought to challenge the QA workers'attempt at unionising earlier in the year, wanting to make all 230 members of staff at Raven Software take part in the vote.

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According to the NLRB, Raven Software QA workers will have their ballots mailed on April 29, with all ballots being tallied almost a month later on May 23. If a majority of eligible workers vote yes, the union will then move into contract negotiations with Activision Blizzard.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson provided a statement to Polygon, saying "While we respect the NLRB process, we are disappointed that a decision that could significantly impact the future of our entire studio will be made by fewer than 10% of our employees. We believe a direct relationship with team members is the best path to achieving individual and company goals. We are reviewing legal options regarding a potential appeal."

On Twitter, the union, called Game Workers Alliance, thanked those that have supported them so far. "We are so proud to announce that the NLRB ruled that our unit is eligible for election!" reads the tweet. "Thank you to everyone supporting our campaign since our initial strike up until this very moment! Time for democracy!"

Late last year, a number of Activision Blizzard employees walked out in solidarity with Raven Software staff due to a number of layoffs at the studio. Following this, at the start of the year Raven Software QA workers announced their intent to unionise, which if successful, will be the first union at a major video game studio in the US.