Major Workers’ Union Backs Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal in FTC Letter

Katie Kilkenny
·3 min read

After reaching a labor neutrality agreement with Microsoft earlier in June, the Communications Workers of America has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission supporting the tech giant’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

The president of the labor union, which in late May successfully established Activision Blizzard’s first certified union at subsidiary Raven Software, sent a letter to FTC leaders including chair Lina Khan on Thursday where he stated, “We now support approval of the transaction before you because Microsoft has entered an agreement with CWA to ensure the workers of Activision Blizzard have a clear path to collective bargaining.” CWA president Chris Shelton added, “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.”

More from The Hollywood Reporter

The CWA and Microsoft announced the labor neutrality agreement, which will go into effect 60 days after the tech company’s proposed Activision Blizzard deal closes, if the deal closes, in June. According to the CWA, the contract entails Microsoft remaining “neutral” when employees that fall under the terms of the agreement voice their interest in forming a union. Moreover, the agreement pledges employees will be able to “easily exercise their right to communicate with other employees and union representatives about union membership” without impeding day-to-day business, will have a “streamlined” process for deciding on joining a union and can keep their decisions about a union confidential (labor neutrality agreements often entail an employer and a union agreeing to a “card check” system to recognize a union, and avoid an National Labor Relations Board election). Finally, the union and the company agreed to “work together promptly to reach an agreement” if a conflict arises, and seek a fast arbitration process if differences cannot be resolved.

Shelton said in May that, as a result of the agreement, “we support [the acquisition’s] approval and look forward to working collaboratively with Microsoft after this deal closes,” which represented a change in position for the union. Previously, the union had joined a group of organizations raising concerns about the megadeal to the FTC, saying the transaction “may lead to an undue concentration of market power when viewed as a vertical or horizontal merger, threaten data privacy and security, undermine consumer protection online, impinge on the consumer right to repair and exacerbate worker disempowerment and wage suppression.”

The union’s dealings with Activision Blizzard, moreover, have been contentious, with the union filing several unfair labor practice charges against the company with the NLRB and Activision Blizzard throwing up potential roadblocks to the Raven Software election before it took place.

Microsoft signaled a seemingly softer approach to unions in a June blog post that, while vague, sketched out some principles for dealing with unions and organizing. The post included a statement that Microsoft is “committed to creative and collaborative approaches with unions when employees wish to exercise their rights and Microsoft is presented with a specific unionization proposal.” In June, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith said that the Activision Blizzard acquisition “is our first opportunity to put these principles into practice.”

FTC chair Lina Khan has been vocal about her interest in considering potential impact on workers as the agency reviews and investigates mergers. On June 16, Khan noted in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the FTC is investigating Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Click here to read the full article.