It is important to keep in mind what is going on within Activision Blizzard at this time regarding ongoing allegations about the work culture. The ongoing lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the company is over reported toxic workplace culture. The bulk of the suit focuses on “violations of the state’s civil rights and equal pay laws,” specifically regarding the treatment of women and other marginalized groups. To learn more about the proceedings thus far, including details listed in the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, please check out our previous coverage here.
asked Activision Blizzard if former contractors at Raven Software laid off back in December would be hired back as a result of this conversion and an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told the publication, “This conversion of nearly 1100 QA workers at Activision and Blizzard does not have any relation to the petition pending at Raven studio. The Raven situation is limited to Raven. The testers whose contracts weren’t extended were welcome then, and now, to apply for any jobs at the company.”
When asked by if current Raven workers would receive new pay initiatives as a result of today’s news, Activision Blizzard said they will not “due to legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act.”
“Whether Raven workers choose to unionize has nothing to do with the salary increases elsewhere for Activision’s QA workers,” the spokesperson told.
received a statement from Game Workers Alliance (CWA) secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens that calls Activision Blizzard’s exclusion of Raven QA workers in this new pay initiative “an effort to divide workers and undermine their effort to form a union.”
Here’s the statement received, in full:
“Make no mistake, all credit for Activision Blizzard’s latest move to give all temporary and contingent QA team members full-time employment and a raise should go to the workers who have been organizing, mobilizing, and speaking out. It’s especially galling then that Activision has excluded Raven Software QA workers, who have been at the forefront of this effort, from these benefits. The company’s assertion that the National Labor Relations Act prevents them from including Raven workers is clearly an effort to divide workers and undermine their effort to form a union (Game Workers Alliance – CWA). Activision’s disingenuous announcement is further evidence of the need for workers to have a protected voice on the job. We strongly urge Activision Blizzard to rectify this situation and respect Raven QA workers’ protected right to organize under the lei.”
Activision Blizzard has announced that it has converted all U.S.-based quality assurance testers to full-time employees, giving them access to full benefits and hourly wage increases.
This news comes by way of CharlieINTEL on Twitter, which posted a statement from Activision Blizzard and an internal company email in regards to today’s news. In the statement, it’s revealed that nearly 1100 QA team members in temporary and contingent roles – contract – will be converted to full-time employees starting July 1. The minimum hourly rate for these employees will be increased to $20 an hour, effective April 17 and they’ll gain access to full company benefits and the opportunity to participate in Activision Blizzard’s bonus plan.
This news comes months after 34 Raven Software QA employees attempted to unionize after weeks of striking in response to the workers laid off there, and general contractor treatment, in December. Raven Software asked Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize this union by January 25 but hours after the deadline, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said it had declined to do so, citing that the two parties could not reach an agreement. Você pode ler mais sobre isso aqui.
“Across Activision Blizzard, we are bringing more content to players across our franchises than ever before,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson writes in the statement regarding today’s news. “As a result, we are refining how our teams work together to develop our games and deliver the best possible experiences for our players. We have ambitious plans for the future and our Quality Assurance (QA) team members are a critical part of our development efforts.”
Activision Blizzard says this change “follows a process that began last year across AP [Activision Publishing] and Blizzard of converting temporary and contingent employees, including 500 at AP’s studios, to permanent full-time employees.” That change began last year following layoffs of at least a dozen QA contractors at Raven Software, a studio within the Activision Blizzard umbrella. Following the layoffs, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told that it had begun to convert 500 contract employees to full-time employees while also revealing that 20 contractors were let go.
Juntamente com a declaração pública compartilhada pela Activision Blizzard, a Activision Publishing Coo Josh Taub enviou um e-mail interno para compartilhar as notícias.
“Durante os últimos dois anos, o Call of Duty expandiu e evoluiu”, escreve Taub. “Nossos ciclos de desenvolvimento passaram de uma versão anual para um modelo ‘sempre em’. Em resposta a maior envolvimento, aumentamos nosso negócio de serviços ao vivo em todas as plataformas. Nossas ofertas agora abrangem passes de temporada, operadores e o conteúdo incrível disponível em nossas lojas. Também cultivamos nossa força de trabalho e apoio em nossos estúdios, juntamente com novos planos emocionantes no celular.
“À luz dessas mudanças, e como olhamos para nossos ambiciosos planos para o futuro, estamos ainda mais refinando como nossas equipes de desenvolvimento funcionam juntas. Qa é, e continua a ser, crítico para o nosso sucesso de desenvolvimento. Temos incríveis equipes de QA no lugar que trabalham duro para garantir que nossos jogadores tenham as melhores experiências de jogos possíveis – obrigado! Tenho o prazer de anunciar que estamos convertendo todos os trabalhadores temporários e contingentes baseados nos EUA para funcionários em tempo integral (FTEs). Estamos aumentando sua taxa horária a um mínimo de US $ 20 / h e proporcionando acesso a benefícios completos da empresa, e eles serão elegíveis para participar do programa de bônus da empresa. “
Em outros lugares no email, Taub diz que, como a publicação do Activision antecipa o fluxo de reflexos e o fluxo de cargas de trabalho associadas à franquia de call of duty, a empresa está adicionando “suporte extra para a nossa equipe de parceiros externos”, citando que esta é uma longa data O estúdio e a prática do setor que nos darão mais flexibilidade e capacidade para apoiar as necessidades de negócios e permitir que nossas equipes internas se concentrem nos resultados que mais afetam nossos negócios “.
O chefe da Blizzard Mike Ybarra também enviou um email interno para os funcionários em relação às notícias, citando que nos últimos seis meses, sua equipe se envolveu com sua equipe de QA para determinar uma “filosofia” sobre contrato e papéis em tempo integral.
“Há algum tempo, a liderança de QA começou a mudar sua abordagem para a equipe da equipe, convertendo mais trabalhadores temporários e contratados (ches) para funcionários em tempo integral (FTEs), e usando parceiros para apoiar picos de curto prazo na carga de trabalho”, escreve Ybarra. “Hoje, essa mudança na abordagem é culminando em uma conversão de todos os chás / empreiteiros remanescentes da U.S. em QA – mais de 90 pessoas em toda a Irvine, Austin e Albany – a FTEs. Também estamos aumentando a taxa mínima por hora para QA a US $ 20 / hora, e elas serão elegíveis para nosso programa de bônus e maiores benefícios.
“Temos talento de QA incrível, e estou muito feliz em fazer essa mudança para que possamos nos concentrar e entregar para jogadores ao redor do mundo”.
Para mais, leia a cobertura original das demissões do software Raven e, em seguida, acompanhe a greve de software Raven que aconteceu como resultado, incluindo a resposta do Gerenciamento da Activision a ela.