Raven Software Workers Win Union Contract After 3-Year Fight
â–Ľ Summary
– Workers at Raven Software ratified their first union contract with Microsoft, securing a 10% wage increase over two years and additional merit-based raises.
– The contract eliminates crunch time, requiring seven days’ notice for mandatory overtime and limiting excessive overtime periods.
– Job descriptions and promotions processes will be clearly defined under the new agreement, addressing career path concerns.
– Union members highlighted the contract as a milestone for better pay, career stability, and protections against burnout in the gaming industry.
– This follows similar unionization successes at ZeniMax Media, signaling growing worker organization efforts in the tech sector.
Raven Software employees have secured their first union contract with Microsoft after a prolonged three-year battle, marking a significant milestone for labor rights in the gaming industry. The agreement follows years of organizing efforts, including strikes and negotiations, to address workplace concerns at the Activision-owned studio, best known for its work on the Call of Duty franchise.
The push for unionization gained momentum in early 2022 when Raven’s quality assurance (QA) team protested the sudden dismissal of 12 colleagues. Despite resistance from Activision Blizzard, which included internal campaigns discouraging union support, workers successfully voted to unionize under the Game Workers Alliance-CWA (GWA-CWA). The newly ratified contract delivers substantial improvements, including a 10% wage increase over two years, merit-based raises, and clearer promotion pathways, addressing long-standing frustrations over stagnant pay and career stagnation.
One of the most notable victories in the agreement is the elimination of excessive crunch, a notorious issue in game development. The contract mandates seven days’ notice for mandatory overtime, prohibits back-to-back weeks of extended hours, and limits mandatory overtime to a minority of weeks per quarter. Additionally, job descriptions and promotion criteria will now be clearly defined, bringing much-needed transparency to career progression.
“This contract proves that collective action works,” said Erin Hall, a QA tester and bargaining committee member at Raven. “We fought for fair pay, real career growth, and protections against burnout, and we won. It’s a blueprint for other game workers who deserve better.” Autumn Prazuch, another committee member, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing how the agreement transforms QA roles into sustainable long-term careers.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) praised the deal as a landmark achievement, with Vice President Linda Hinton calling it a “game-changer for industry standards.” By curbing exploitative overtime practices, the contract sets a precedent for other studios grappling with similar labor issues.
This victory follows another recent union success at ZeniMax Media, where workers ratified their own contract with Microsoft after nearly two years of talks. Meanwhile, Raven Software continues development on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, collaborating with Treyarch on what’s being touted as the franchise’s “most mind-bending installment yet.”
The outcome at Raven underscores a growing movement within tech and gaming, proving that organized labor can secure meaningful change, even against industry giants.
(Source: EUROGAMER)
