Activision game testers authorize a strike over their first contract

Activision quality-assurance workers voted October 15 to authorize a strike after more than two years negotiating their first union contract, the Communications Workers of America announced. The vote gives CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. authority to call a walkout if negotiations continue to stall.

The testers are represented by CWA Locals 6215, 7250 and 9400, and bargaining began in August 2024. The union says unresolved issues include wages, rules governing contractors, protections around artificial intelligence and workers’ access to disability accommodations.

Those accommodations are a central concern in Nathan Grayson’s reporting for Aftermath. Bargaining committee members Jenna Huffman and Emily Danko described workers struggling with return-to-office requirements and seeking arrangements that would let them work safely.

Aftermath also interviewed former tester and union steward Jordan Kunze, who said he spent more than a year seeking a remote-work accommodation for a documented medical condition. Kunze accepted voluntary severance in September after describing the process as damaging to his health. Aftermath said Activision and Microsoft did not answer its questions about his case.

CWA says workers rallied outside Activision Publishing’s Bloomington, Minnesota, building on October 14. Nearly 600 QA testers organized at Activision in March 2024; the current dispute concerns their first contract, rather than an announced agreement on the issues under negotiation.

Activision disputes the union’s account of bargaining. A spokesperson told Aftermath that the company had bargained in good faith, made progress on several issues and prepared to prevent disruption to players or upcoming releases.

Danko told Aftermath that no strike dates were set. Activision said it had offered to meet the union again October 21 and 22.

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