The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has dropped its demand for a union vote at Activision Blizzard's Proletariat Studios after CEO Seth Sivak accused the company of "making a free and fair election impossible." In a statement released yesterday, the CWA accused Sivak of responding to union overtures with "confrontational tactics" that "demoralized and neutralized the group" and will not result in a vote.

Dustin Yost, a proletariat software engineer and member of the union organizing committee, said in a statement that although an "overwhelming majority" of his colleagues at the studio signed cards in support of unionizing, the process "cost the workers."

The CWA said Sivak had " framed the meeting, which he claimed was "framed as a personal betrayal," was apparently too painful for employees to continue the process.

Both Yost and CWA compared the proletariat negatively to Microsoft's Zenimax, and asked why the Activision Blizzard-owned studio could not "remain neutral, as Microsoft did with Zenimax," and allow "a free and fair process, free of intimidation and manipulation by the employer"

He asked why it could not be made possible.

When we asked the proletariat to comment on these claims, a spokesperson told us that the CWA's withdrawal was an "admission that proletariat workers did not actually want this" and justified "employees who said they felt pressured by the CWA campaign." They told us that it was something that they had to do. The proletariat also told me that it supported "secret elections" that would "include all affected workers, free from pressure and intimidation, and in which they could vote behind closed doors.

The spokesperson also said that the CWA's claims about Sivak were "completely false" and that the CEO was "responding to concerns from employees who felt pressure and intimidation from the CWA and wanted more information about what it meant to join the union." The spokesperson insisted that Sivak was only acting to protect employees' right to a private vote and that "their viewpoints will not be targeted, just as [Sivak himself] is being targeted by the CWA right now."

Regardless of how one interprets this story, it is worth remembering that several proletariat employees, including Yost himself (open in new tab), came out after the fallout to remind everyone that the studio was "full of people with very complex [views]." The organizing committee itself tweeted (open in new tab) that its vehement comments reflected its own views and not the broader stance of all workers of the proletariat.

The proletariat is a long overdue victory for Activision in the union struggle. The company lost two struggles last year, Raven and Blizzard Albany (open in new tab), and workers at both studios pushed for and won union organizing votes despite Activision's best efforts. The company is probably hoping that the failure of the proletariat vote will break the 2022 wave of unionization (opens in new tab) and set it back. Activision will not be so lucky.

Concluding his statement, Yost said that while the CWA "withdrew its union election petition today," he believes that "unions are the best way for workers in this industry to ensure their voices are heard. After all, the proletariat has nothing to lose but its chains.