Quality assurance testers at Activision Publishing, including testers working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, have voted to authorize a strike after more than two years of bargaining without a first contract. The vote does not mean a strike has been called. According to the Communications Workers of America, it gives CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. the authority to call one if negotiations continue to stall.
The union, Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA (AQAU-CWA), is represented by CWA Locals 6215, 7250 and 9400. The CWA says members “overwhelmingly” voted for the authorization on Thursday, Oct. 15, though it did not release a vote count. A day earlier, workers held an action outside Activision Publishing’s building in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The timing matters. The CWA notes that Modern Warfare 4 opens in early access on Friday, Oct. 16, with a worldwide launch on Oct. 23.
What the union wants
Nearly 600 testers organized in March 2024, and bargaining with Activision Publishing began that August, according to the CWA. The union says the company has failed to bargain in good faith over wage increases, protections around AI use, its use of contractors, and workers’ rights to seek accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Bargaining has been a long, exhausting process spanning over two years, with our committee making responsible moves while the company continues to stall on critical issues like wages, accommodations, and worker protections,” said Emily Danko, an AQAU-CWA bargaining committee member and quality assurance functional tester.
Jenna Huffman, another committee member and quality assurance functional tester, said in the release that “Activision’s stalling at the bargaining table shows that they are not the high-road, union-neutral employer they once committed themselves to be.” CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister said the vote sends “a clear message to Activision management: it is time to stop playing games.”
Kotaku reports that the unit is now just over 400 people, down from the nearly 600 who first organized. “When the workforce shrinks but the work continues, it raises legitimate questions about how that work is redistributed,” Danko told the outlet. Kotaku also notes that the labor neutrality agreement Microsoft signed with the CWA during its acquisition of Activision Blizzard expired last fall.
Activision’s response
In an email to Kotaku, an Activision spokesperson said the company has “made meaningful progress on a number of issues” and has offered to meet with the union again on Oct. 21 and 22. “We respect our employees’ right to engage in protected activity, including the right to strike,” the spokesperson said. “We have plans in place to ensure there is no disruption to players or upcoming game releases.”
The QA strike vote is the latest labor story in games this month, following the push by D&D and Magic teams to unionize at Wizards of the Coast.
