Activision Blizzard Seeks to Expand Unionization Vote to All Diablo Staff

A recent hearing with the National Labor Relations Board saw Activision Blizzard push for all staff working on the Diablo series to be included in the unionization vote. The move, which could potentially dilute the voting power of QA testers, has been met with concerns from labor lawyers. The company's argument is that every non-supervisory employee working on Diablo should have the right to participate in the vote, not just the 20 QA testers who initiated the unionization effort. Activision Blizzard's stance is that this would ensure a fair and confidential vote, allowing all employees to choose whether or not to join a union. However, labor lawyers argue that expanding the voting pool could lead to the vote failing, as the increased number of participants may outweigh the votes of the QA testers. The National Labor Relations Board is expected to make a decision on the matter in the coming weeks, after reviewing briefs from Activision Blizzard. The unionization effort, led by the Game Workers Alliance: Albany, seeks to improve working conditions and wages for QA staff, who are reportedly among the lowest paid members of the studio.