A majority of Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble developers have formed a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The newly-organised unit will become members of CWA Local 9510 in Irvine, California.
Activision Blizzard parent company Microsoft has recognized the union, which includes over 100 workers including software engineers, artists, quality assurance testers and producers.
Thousands of Microsoft employees, including many within Activision Blizzard, have unionized in recent years in a bid to secure better working conditions and take charge of their destiny amid a wave of mass layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures.
Earlier this week, for instance, more than 400 employees within Blizzard’s Platform & Technology department successfully voted to unionize. Back in August, over 450 Diablo developers also formed a union under the CWA.
Prior to that, a group of more than 500 Blizzard Entertainment employees—including the entire World of Warcraft development team—established a wall-to-wall union to “raise industry-wide expectations for pay, benefits and respect for workers’ rights.”
Those Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble developers who chose to unionize now hope to follow in the footsteps of their colleagues in fighting for a brighter future.
“Whether we are fighting for layoff protections, security for our remote workers, or reduced wage gaps, the pressures we face are making it harder to create the high-quality work we care about,” said organizing committee member and senior 2D artist Uriah Voth. “Organizing gives us the opportunity to empower ourselves, and challenge the instability and unfair conditions that undermine us.”
CWA Local 9510 President Jason Justice said today’s news is more proof that “creativity and collective power can go hand-in-hand.”
“These are some of the most talented developers and artists in the industry, and their decision to form a union sends a clear message that building great games starts with respecting those who are behind them,” they added.
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