Workers from Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development (SFD) team have voted to unionize with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), joining CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, California. Microsoft has recognized the new union, which covers employees involved in creating cinematics, animation, narrative content, and archival work for Blizzard’s franchises.
Bucky Fisk, a principal editor and organizing committee member, said: “After more than a decade working at Blizzard, I’ve seen all the highs and lows. For years, Blizzard has been a place where people could build their careers and stay for decades, but that stability’s been fading. With a union, we’re able to preserve what makes this place special, secure real transparency in how decisions are made, and make sure policies are applied fairly to everyone.”
Sammi Kay, associate producer and organizing committee member, added: “These past couple of months have felt both important and cathartic given what’s happened to video game workers across the industry. At multiple points in my life, I’ve always been told to accept the way things are, but with organizing, we’re able to build a future better than we found it.”
The SFD team is responsible for trailers and other narrative media tied to Blizzard titles. This marks the first time an in-house cinematic and narrative studio has formed a union within North America’s game industry. The move follows Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023; nearly 3,000 workers at Microsoft-owned studios have since organized with CWA.
John Giarratana, cinematic producer on the organizing committee said: “Our department has some of the most talented and dedicated people I’ve ever worked with. I’m excited that we have joined together in forming a union to protect my colleagues from things like misguided policies and instability as a result of layoffs. People at our studio love working here, and I think that organizing gives us an opportunity to make our workplace better and safer.”
Jason Justice, president of CWA Local 9510 stated: “These workers are setting the standard for animation, cinematics, and storytelling across the video game industry, creating the breathtaking cutscenes, trailers, and other narrative content that fans have come to love across all Blizzard franchises. We are excited to have them join our union family. Their decision to organize is another powerful step toward ensuring that every worker at Blizzard and Microsoft has a seat at the table to shape the conditions under which their art is made.”
The announcement comes amid ongoing labor activity within tech companies. Over 6,000 digital sector employees across North America have organized through CODE-CWA since its launch five years ago (https://www.cwa-union.org/for-the-media/campaign-organize-digital-employees-code-cwa). Recently Raven Software staff secured a contract with Microsoft after similar agreements by ZeniMax QA developers earlier this year.
The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) operates as part of CWA’s efforts representing hundreds of thousands across tech sectors throughout North America.
