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Twenty-two workers at Wisconsin-based mostly Raven voted 19-to-3 in favor of ratifying their Game Employees Alliance union in a National Labor Relations Board-sponsored election on Monday. The Raven workers—who do quality assurance tests for popular Activision titles like “Call of Duty”—formed the Video game Workers Alliance in January and proceeded with the vote right after Activision refused to voluntarily recognize the union.

The vote marks the first time that staff members at a AAA game publisher in the U.S. have productively unionized their office. It could also be a key phase towards unionizing the rest of Activision’s 10,000-particular person workforce—something that Raven labor organizers instructed dot.LA previously this yr is section of their larger sized program.

“We respect and feel in the correct of all workforce to decide no matter whether or not to help or vote for a union,” Activision spokesperson Talia Ron advised dot.LA in an electronic mail Monday. “We believe that an important conclusion that will influence the entire Raven Software package studio of about 350 people should really not be produced by 19 Raven staff.”

None of Activision’s key rivals, these types of as West Los Angeles-centered Riot Game titles, have unionized workforce. Across the whole online video match industry, only indie studio Vodeo Game titles has a labor union—one which grew to become the very first accredited video game workers’ union in North America past year.

“This is a large win for not only the gaming market but AAA gaming, since this is the 1st studio you might be viewing out of a AAA [publisher] really unionizing,” labor organizer and former Activision top quality assurance tester Jessica Gonazlez instructed dot.LA.

Professional-union Activision workers have long felt that an structured place of work could present the muscle they need to have to tackle concerns that have plagued the organization and their business at large—from lengthy, grueling function hrs to sexual harassment and discrimination. “I’m quite, pretty hopeful that this is going to be component of a more substantial wave of unionizing in the video sport marketplace as a full,” Gonzalez extra.

When Microsoft executives have mentioned that the Seattle tech big won’t stand in the way of union attempts at Activision, the match developer has taken steps perceived as anti-union amongst its workers—such as leaving Raven Computer software workers out of a shell out bump for high-quality assurance testers and proposing agreement language that would stop personnel from organizing. Raven personnel commenced organizing after strolling off the position in December in protest of Activision’s final decision to lay off 12 high quality assurance contractors.

In a assertion, Sara Steffens, secretary-treasurer for the Communications Personnel of The usa labor union backing Raven’s Game Workers Alliance, stated “Activision did everything it could, which include breaking the regulation, to attempt to avert the Raven QA personnel from forming their union.”

“Quality assurance employees at Raven Software program are bringing much-necessary transform to Activision and to the video clip video game industry,” Steffens reported. “At this vital time for the business and its staff, these personnel will soon have an enforceable union contract and a voice on the job.”