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Microsoft is willing to accommodate the union if it can get approval.
At the end of last year, a bevy of sudden layoffs, along with continued controversies of mistreatment, prompted employees of game publisher and developer Activision Blizzard to form the company’s first labor union, the Game Workers Alliance. As of yet, however, Activision Blizzard has not formally recognized the existence of this union, and while that would not prevent its formation, it does make the process longer and more difficult.
In an effort to appeal to Activision Blizzard’s new parent company, Microsoft, representatives of the union sent a letter up the chain urging Microsoft to encourage Activision Blizzard to accept them.
“I hope that you will agree that this demeaning and insulting approach to employees who are seeking to improve their workplace should not be tolerated,” the letter said, moving on to show slides of a presentation employed by prominent union-busting law firm Reed Smith, which has been employed by Activision Blizzard.
If Activision Blizzard recognizes a union, Microsoft 'will not stand in the way'. https://t.co/r6XvfL7wyK pic.twitter.com/Se9LgxqKVJ
— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) March 25, 2022
In an official statement to The Washington Post, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and general counsel, Lisa Tanzi, said that Microsoft would “not stand in the way” of the Game Workers Alliance’s formation, and would gladly accommodate them if they can be recognized.
“Microsoft respects Activision Blizzard employees’ right to choose whether to be represented by a labor organization and we will honor those decisions,” Tanzi said.
