Workers at Raven Software, the Activision subsidiary known for its contribution to the Call of Duty series, have ratified their first union contract with Microsoft, three years after unionisation efforts began.
Unionisation efforts within Raven Software started in January 2022, following strike action protesting the firing of 12 members of the developer’s QA team. Eventually, in May of that year, the vote to unionise was won, despite Activision Blizzard’s anti-unionisation manoeuvres, which included sending emails asking recipients to “please vote no”.
Now, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has announced workers at Raven Software have “unanimously voted” to ratify their first union contract between Game Workers Alliance-CWA (GWA-CWA) members and Xbox maker Microsoft.
The contract guarantees a 10 percent wage increase over two years, with “additional raises through merit and promotions, after going 18 months without wage increases and 45 months without promotions”.
In addition, the contract promises an “elimination” of crunch time. Seven days notice is now required for any mandatory overtime, and there is to be no “excessive overtime on back-to-back weeks” and “no mandatory overtime of any duration for the majority of weeks in a quarter”.
Job descriptions will also become defined with this contract in place, while the promotions process will be made more clear.
“After more than three years of organising and bargaining, seeing it finally pay off feels incredible,” Erin Hall, QA tester at Raven Software and member of the bargaining committee, said today. “From day one, we made it a priority to include every voice in the room, and the contract we came out with reflects what we need – better pay, real career paths, and protection from burnout. It’s a contract that actually values the work QA does. I’m proud of what we accomplished, and I hope it shows other game workers that organising works – and it’s worth it.”
“Going from organising to sitting across the table from one of the largest tech corporations in the world was a huge learning curve, but we never lost sight of why we were there,” added Autumn Prazuch, another QA tester at Raven Software and bargaining committee member. “We fought hard for raises and job structures that will finally make QA a sustainable career path, and we were able to negotiate limitations on mandatory crunch. Ratifying this contract is a win for game workers everywhere who are ready to take the first step toward a better future.”
CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton called the contract between CWA members and Microsoft “proof that when video game workers organise, they can win lasting changes in the workplace”.
Said Hinton: “By reaching an agreement with Microsoft that puts limits on excessive sustained overtime, also known as crunch, these members are tackling one of the most exploitative practices in the industry and setting new standards for quality assurance testers and video game workers overall.
“We are pleased to welcome these members into the CWA District 4 family.”
Today’s news comes just a couple of months after workers at ZeniMax Media voted to ratify their first union contract with parent company Microsoft. In May, the two parties reached a tentative agreement, following almost two years of negotiations.
As for Raven Software, it is currently working on the next Call of Duty entry – Black Ops 7 – with Treyarch. The developers have promised this will be the “most mind-bending” Black Ops release yet.
