Microsoft pledges to stay neutral on union efforts at Activision Blizzard

Microsoft will not interfere with efforts by employees at Activision Blizzard to form unions, according to a neutrality agreement the company entered with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on Monday. 

The agreement will apply at Activision Blizzard, the gaming company Microsoft is acquiring, beginning 60 days after Microsoft’s acquisition closes. Microsoft announced earlier this year that it would be buying Activision in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion. 

CWA had previously raised concerns regarding the acquisition, but the group’s president Chris Shelton said the agreement addresses those issues. 

“This agreement provides a pathway for Activision Blizzard workers to exercise their democratic rights to organize and collectively bargain after the close of the Microsoft acquisition and establishes a high road framework for employers in the games industry,” Shelton said in a statement. “Microsoft’s binding commitments will give employees a seat at the table and ensure that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard benefits the company’s workers and the broader video game labor market. 

Microsoft released principles for employee organizing and engagement with labor organizing earlier this month. The agreement for the Activision Blizzard acquisition is the company’s “first opportunity to put these principles into practice,” Microsoft president and vice chairman Brad Smith said. 

“We appreciate CWA’s collaboration in reaching this agreement, and we see today’s partnership as an avenue to innovate and grow together,” Smith said in a statement. 

Under the agreement, Microsoft will take a neutral approach when employees covered by the agreement express interest in joining a union, and employees will be able to communicate with other employees and union representatives about membership, according to the announcement.

They will also get access to technology-supported streamlined processes for choosing whether to join a union. 

If a disagreement arises between CWA and Microsoft under the agreement, the two organizations will work together to reach an agreement and turn to expedited arbitration if they cannot. 

The agreement will not impact the Activision Blizzard workforce before the close of the acquisition transaction. 

Employees at a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard voted to unionize last month.

Activision announced last week it is opening collective bargaining negotiations with the workers in the unit, an update first reported by Axios.