Microsoft Corp. has entered into an agreement with the Communications Workers of America to let employees at Activision Blizzard Inc. more easily unionize, a move that could help clear part of the way for the software giant's acquisition of the videogame company and set it apart from other tech companies that have been facing unionization.
Under the so-called labor neutrality agreement, Microsoft will permit employees and union representatives to communicate easily and will provide a streamlined process for employees to decide whether to join a union. Microsoft is currently seeking approval from regulators for its $75 billion acquisition of Activision.
The agreement would apply 60 days after the deal closes, which Microsoft has said it expects to happen by the middle of next year.
Earlier this month, Microsoft unveiled a set of principles aimed at demonstrating its willingness to work with unions. The company said it wouldn't discourage employees from using their legal right to form and join unions and wouldn't try to complicate the process of unionization for its employees.
The principles marked Microsoft's latest attempt to carve out a position distinct from other technology companies on a sensitive subject in the industry. U.S. tech companies have long avoided unions, and some have tried to discourage employees from joining them. Microsoft reported a global workforce of more than 180,000 last year. None are currently unionized in the U.S.
A small number of quality-assurance employees at Activision studio Raven Software voted in favor of unionizing with CWA last month. Last week, Activision said it would be entering bargaining negotiations with the employees.
The agreement could also help Microsoft get ahead of objections on the Activision deal. Earlier this year, a group of U.S. Senators sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to scrutinize the deal over its impact on workers.
The FTC has begun a review of the deal, looking at whether it would substantially lessen competition in the videogame market, The Wall Street Journal reported. The FTC is led by Chairwoman Lina Khan, who has taken steps to increase scrutiny of acquisitions.
The new understanding with Microsoft has eased the CWA's worries about the Activision deal, CWA President Chris Shelton said in a statement on Monday.
"As a result, we support its approval and look forward to working collaboratively with Microsoft after this deal closes," he said.
A wave of unionization efforts across the U.S. in recent years has hit some tech companies, particularly Amazon.com Inc. and Apple, which have large hourly-worker employee bases at warehouses and stores.
Amazon has been contesting unionization attempts at several of its warehouses. Workers at one of its Staten Island facilities voted earlier this year to unionize. In meetings with workers, the company pointed to its pay and benefits and asserted that unionization was unnecessary.
Workers at several Apple retail locations have also declared their intent to vote on unionization, including in New York state, Georgia and Maryland. Apple recently boosted pay for hourly workers in the U.S. to $22 an hour, or higher depending on the market, a 45% increase from 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Microsoft's move could set a precedent for the positions companies take in regard to labor unions, said Damian Cavaleri, a partner at the law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP. Mr. Cavaleri said he has never seen a case in which a company agrees up front to take a labor-neutrality position.
Taking this stance isn't as risky for Microsoft as it would be for companies such as Amazon, said Mr. Cavaleri. Amazon employs hundreds of thousands of workers in its warehouses while Microsoft employees are mostly well-compensated, white-collar workers who are less likely to join a union.
"This is great PR for Microsoft," he said.
