Activision Blizzard Employees File Lawsuit Against NLRB Accusing Company Of Dismantling Unions And Bullying

Activision Blizzard employees under the banner of the ABK Workers Alliance, with the support of the Communication Workers of America (CWA), have filed a lawsuit for unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claiming that the company has joined a union. -Returns and intimidation of workers.

In a press release sent by the groups today, ABK Workers and CWA accuse Activision Blizzard of “using coercive tactics to try to prevent its employees from exercising their rights to stick together and to demand a more equitable, sustainable and diverse workplace.”

“It is your right as workers to organize for a work environment free from abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment, and this right is protected by federal labor law,” he continues.

The complaint itself alleges that Activision-Blizzard has threatened employees, told them they cannot talk about wages, hours or working conditions, “maintained too broad a social media policy” and then engaged in surveillance and enforced its policy against employees who “participated in protected concerted activity.”

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An anonymous employee reportedly told him Vice that some of the company’s more outspoken employees had recently been told that their job performance was not up to standard, even though it was previously good. Another said the company had been “bleeding people” in the wake of the harassment lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard.

The lawsuit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing earlier this year, alleging that Activision-Blizzard fostered a “frat boy” culture in which female employees were subjected to sexual harassment, wage inequality and further harassment. , discrimination and injustice. treatment over the years.

The following weeks saw an industry-wide protest against the company culture, including numerous current and former employees who shared their stories of mistreatment at the company on social media and with the press, and an employee strike. The ABK Workers Alliance was formed during this time in response to the demand, with the purpose of better demanding the company for its workers.

Since then, Activision Blizzard has taken some steps to address the issues, including firing several employees accused of misbehavior, removing in-game references to various people named in the lawsuit and other allegations, replacing the former president. from Blizzard J Allen Brack with co-leaders Mike Ybarra and Jen Oneal, and today hiring former Disney Vice President Julie Hodges as their new Chief of Staff.

However, ABK workers say the company has not meaningfully addressed their published demands, including new recruiting, hiring, interviewing and promotion policies, publication of representative data on employee compensation, a third-party audit of the company’s HR, reporting processes and executive staff, and an end to arbitration forced.

For the last point, ABK Workers tweeted today that “if the NLRB rules in our favor, the ruling will be retroactive and we will set a precedent that no worker in the United States can be intimidated for talking about forced arbitration.”

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @Patovalentino.