Akerman Traditional Labor Law Practice Co-Chair Amy Moor Gaylord shared her thoughts with Bloomberg Law recently regarding Microsoft's decision to remain neutral last year during unionization campaigns at its acquisition target, video game giant Activision Blizzard. The unionization efforts were led by the Communications Workers of America, which expressed opposition to the acquisition to the FTC but flipped positions when Microsoft agreed to remain neutral.

Gaylord told Bloomberg that companies involved in mergers and acquisitions of this size will sometimes take a neutral position in these types of situations so they are better positioned to request concessions from the union later.

“I think Microsoft saw the writing on the wall, that their acquisition of Activision Blizzard would not be approved with the CWA standing in their way,” Gaylord told Bloomberg.

Though not included in the article, Gaylord told Bloomberg that while the video game industry may see more union organizing efforts in the future she doubts there will be a dramatic increase in this type of neutrality agreement. She noted that the cost of doing business with a union workforce, as well as the loss of flexibility, still make unions unattractive to most businesses.