CWA and Microsoft Announce Historic Labor Neutrality Agreement

Thanks to an unprecedented neutrality agreement between CWA and Microsoft, if Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is approved, workers at Activision will be able to freely and fairly make a choice about union representation.

CWA President Chris Shelton announced the agreement at the CWA Presidents Meeting on Monday. “Under this agreement, Microsoft will remain absolutely neutral if the employees covered by the agreement express interest in joining CWA,” Shelton told the group. “CWA organizers will have onsite access. Instead of an NLRB election, we will use a hybrid approach overseen by a neutral third party. Each worker will be able to either sign a card or participate in a confidential balloting process to choose union representation.”

“I want to congratulate President Shelton and the CWA on the historic agreement you announced with Microsoft this week,” Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said to activists gathered at the CWA Legislative Political Conference. “This is an important milestone in our economy. Working people have used their power, and a major employer has pledged to take the high road, and respect the free choice to join a union. This is the kind of vision, conversation, and action we need.”

Quality Assurance testers at Activision’s Raven Software studio voted to join CWA last month, after Activision repeatedly tried to delay the election.

This groundbreaking agreement made headlines in the New York Times and Washington Post and is yet another major milestone in CODE-CWA’s continued campaign to support tech and game worker organizing.