Activision Blizzard Staff Announce Start of New Strike Action
The ABK Workers Alliance has also set up a strike fund.
Activision Blizzard employees launch strike fund, move closer to unionizingThe ABK Workers Alliance has also set up a strike fund.
By Matt Purslow
Updated: 9 Dec 2021 8:36 am
The ABK Workers Alliance, a collective of Activision Blizzard and King employees, has initiated strike action against its employer. The group plans to continue its work stoppage until its demands are met. This follows walkouts from other Activision Blizzard groups, including Raven’s QA department.
Announced via a post on Twitter, the group said “Today, the ABK Worker's Alliance announces the initiation of its strike. We encourage our peers in the Game Industry to stand with us in creating lasting change.”
In addition, the Tweet also includes a link to a Gofundme page, which allows supporters to provide financial donations to help participating Activision Blizzard and King staff through their work stoppage. “For those who wish to join in solidarity, please consider donating to our Strike Fund,” said the tweet. The fund has a goal of $1 million.
The announcement of the ABK Workers Alliance strike follows Monday’s news of Raven Software's QA team walkout over the termination of contractors. Striking staff were supported by other Activision Blizzard workers in solidarity, with further walkouts happening in Texas, Minnesota, and California.
Updated: 9 Dec 2021 8:36 am
The ABK Workers Alliance, a collective of Activision Blizzard and King employees, has initiated strike action against its employer. The group plans to continue its work stoppage until its demands are met. This follows walkouts from other Activision Blizzard groups, including Raven’s QA department.
Announced via a post on Twitter, the group said “Today, the ABK Worker's Alliance announces the initiation of its strike. We encourage our peers in the Game Industry to stand with us in creating lasting change.”
In addition, the Tweet also includes a link to a Gofundme page, which allows supporters to provide financial donations to help participating Activision Blizzard and King staff through their work stoppage. “For those who wish to join in solidarity, please consider donating to our Strike Fund,” said the tweet. The fund has a goal of $1 million.
The announcement of the ABK Workers Alliance strike follows Monday’s news of Raven Software's QA team walkout over the termination of contractors. Striking staff were supported by other Activision Blizzard workers in solidarity, with further walkouts happening in Texas, Minnesota, and California.
By Shannon Liao
WASHINGTON POST
Today at 10:41 a.m.
Activision Blizzard employees are creating a strike fund for workers who have been participating in a work stoppage since Monday.
Employees, in collaboration with media labor union Communications Workers of America, are asking workers to sign a union authorization card, which could eventually lead to a companywide vote on forming a union.
The strike fund is being listed on a GoFundMe page with a goal of $1 million, which would be used for the current work stoppage and future strikes. Company management told workers that they would be paid their wages for Monday through Wednesday of the walkout but not beyond, according to emails shared with The Post. If workers continue striking Thursday and onward, they will be unpaid or will have to use their own accrued paid time off.
The video games industry in the United States is not unionized, so a move to get workers to sign union cards is notable. It brings Activision Blizzard workers one step closer to organizing, although those who sign the authorization cards are not obligated to join a union.
Why is the games industry so burdened with crunch? It starts with labor laws.
One current Activision worker who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation said she signed the union card because “it’s the only option.”
“Do we want to work for a company that has a history of not only sexual abuse and protecting abusers but also sporadic layoffs that may hit us at anytime, especially as a contract QA worker? Or do I risk losing my job to try and make a change?" she said.
The GoFundMe page was created by Blizzard senior test analyst Jessica Gonzalez, who told The Post she was giving her 3-year-old child a bath while organizing the strike fund on gaming messaging app Discord. The effort coincides with Thursday’s Game Awards, a significant annual red-carpet event for the games industry in Los Angeles. It’s a time when some of the most eyeballs are on the games industry, and workers planned around that.
“Workers deserve better, and [CEO] Bobby Kotick is continuing to ignore us,” Gonzalez said Wednesday evening. Gonzalez had announced her resignation from the company in late November; her last day is Friday.
Over 60 workers at Raven Software, an Activision Blizzard-owned game studio, walked out of work Monday in protest of their parent company laying off 12 of the studio’s quality assurance testers on Friday. Hundreds of workers across Activision Blizzard joined Raven Software contractors in solidarity, and in protest of the layoffs.
Activision Blizzard workers have walked out three times in five months since the gaming company was sued in late July over sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination allegations.
At Blizzard, groping, free-flowing booze and fear of retaliation tainted ‘magical’ workplace
“Activision Blizzard just continues to show us all how to not effectively manage a business. And, as a longtime Blizzard player, it breaks my heart and as a trade unionist, it’s pretty infuriating, but I think this latest controversy at Raven is, again, entirely self inflicted on management’s part,” said Communications Workers of America (CWA) organizing director Tom Smith, who helped with the strike fund effort. “Their only path forward for this company is to meet the righteous demands laid out in the original walkout and committed to higher labor standards, which center workers having a meaningful voice and all company matters.”
Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Over the past several months, Activision Blizzard has come under fire from many directions. In addition to the lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, it is also under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is being sued in an August class-action suit from shareholders alleging violation of federal securities laws. Additionally, there is an unfair labor practice complaint against the company filed by workers and the CWA.
Inside the Activision Blizzard lawsuit
On July 20, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a lawsuit against video game publisher Activision Blizzard, alleging widespread, gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Here’s what you need to know:
Activision Blizzard employees are creating a strike fund for workers who have been participating in a work stoppage since Monday.
Employees, in collaboration with media labor union Communications Workers of America, are asking workers to sign a union authorization card, which could eventually lead to a companywide vote on forming a union.
The strike fund is being listed on a GoFundMe page with a goal of $1 million, which would be used for the current work stoppage and future strikes. Company management told workers that they would be paid their wages for Monday through Wednesday of the walkout but not beyond, according to emails shared with The Post. If workers continue striking Thursday and onward, they will be unpaid or will have to use their own accrued paid time off.
The video games industry in the United States is not unionized, so a move to get workers to sign union cards is notable. It brings Activision Blizzard workers one step closer to organizing, although those who sign the authorization cards are not obligated to join a union.
Why is the games industry so burdened with crunch? It starts with labor laws.
One current Activision worker who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation said she signed the union card because “it’s the only option.”
“Do we want to work for a company that has a history of not only sexual abuse and protecting abusers but also sporadic layoffs that may hit us at anytime, especially as a contract QA worker? Or do I risk losing my job to try and make a change?" she said.
The GoFundMe page was created by Blizzard senior test analyst Jessica Gonzalez, who told The Post she was giving her 3-year-old child a bath while organizing the strike fund on gaming messaging app Discord. The effort coincides with Thursday’s Game Awards, a significant annual red-carpet event for the games industry in Los Angeles. It’s a time when some of the most eyeballs are on the games industry, and workers planned around that.
“Workers deserve better, and [CEO] Bobby Kotick is continuing to ignore us,” Gonzalez said Wednesday evening. Gonzalez had announced her resignation from the company in late November; her last day is Friday.
Over 60 workers at Raven Software, an Activision Blizzard-owned game studio, walked out of work Monday in protest of their parent company laying off 12 of the studio’s quality assurance testers on Friday. Hundreds of workers across Activision Blizzard joined Raven Software contractors in solidarity, and in protest of the layoffs.
Activision Blizzard workers have walked out three times in five months since the gaming company was sued in late July over sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination allegations.
At Blizzard, groping, free-flowing booze and fear of retaliation tainted ‘magical’ workplace
“Activision Blizzard just continues to show us all how to not effectively manage a business. And, as a longtime Blizzard player, it breaks my heart and as a trade unionist, it’s pretty infuriating, but I think this latest controversy at Raven is, again, entirely self inflicted on management’s part,” said Communications Workers of America (CWA) organizing director Tom Smith, who helped with the strike fund effort. “Their only path forward for this company is to meet the righteous demands laid out in the original walkout and committed to higher labor standards, which center workers having a meaningful voice and all company matters.”
Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Over the past several months, Activision Blizzard has come under fire from many directions. In addition to the lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, it is also under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is being sued in an August class-action suit from shareholders alleging violation of federal securities laws. Additionally, there is an unfair labor practice complaint against the company filed by workers and the CWA.
Inside the Activision Blizzard lawsuit
On July 20, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a lawsuit against video game publisher Activision Blizzard, alleging widespread, gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Here’s what you need to know:
The lawsuit followed an investigation by the DFEH that began in 2018 in response to complaints from Activision Blizzard employees. Activision Blizzard disputes the allegations, saying the lawsuit’s claims were “distorted, and in many cases false.”
17 current and former employees interview by The Post detailed a workplace culture where women faced multiple incidents of harassment from men in leadership positions, and alcohol was free-flowing.
A Nov. 16 report from The Wall Street Journal alleged that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of sexual misconduct allegations at the company but did not inform the board of directors. The report resulted in an employee walkout, a letter from an Activision shareholder group and a petition signed by employees demanding the resignation of several executives, including Kotick.
The DFEH lawsuit alleges that J. Allen Brack, the president of Blizzard Entertainment, was personally aware of employee complaints of sexual harassment directed at men with senior positions at the company. It also alleges he did not effectively mitigate those issues. Brack stepped down from his position as president on Aug. 3. The same day, Activision Blizzard confirmed that an executive in Blizzard’s human resources department was no longer with the company.
In response to the lawsuit and the ensuing statements of company leaders, Activision Blizzard employees wrote an open letter to the company’s leadership on July 26, rebuking them what they perceived to be an “abhorrent and insulting” response to the lawsuit. Employees also organized a walkout July 28.
Several sponsors for Activision Blizzard-run esports leagues have pulled back advertising, The Post reported Aug. 5.
Content creators on Twitch and YouTube who often feature games made by Activision Blizzard have wrestled with how to approach the topic on their streams and videos.
Legal experts are interested in the outcome of the lawsuit, noting that the DFEH is highly selective in the cases it chooses to fight in court and that the suit could set a precedent for California labor law.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating Activision Blizzard, and has subpoenaed the company and several current and former employees. In a statement, Activision Blizzard said it was cooperating with the investigation.
Learn more about this story and the rest of the video game industry by following Launcher on Twitter and subscribe to Launcher on YouTube and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment