Activision Blizzard Encourages Employees Not To Unionize In New Email

Activision Blizzard Encourages Employees Not To Unionize In New Email

This morning, Activision Blizzard employees received an email appearing to warn against signing and submitting union authorization cards for CWA.

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Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.

In a mass email sent to company workers earlier today, an executive at Activision Blizzard appeared to caution employees against signing and submitting union authorization cards through the Communication Workers of America (CWA). Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in a lawsuit filed in July by the State of California, which conducted a two-year-long investigation into the company’s workplace and emerged with accusations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and an overall toxic environment.

Amid its lawsuit (and other lawsuits and investigations initiated against the company since the State of California’s initial July filing), talks surrounding unionization efforts ensued. In late July, an Ex-Blizzard developer, Jeff Strain, published an open letter calling for unionization at Activision Blizzard. In the IGN-published piece, the former employee explained, “I have nothing to fear from unionization, nor does any company that pays employees fairly and equitably, provides quality health insurance, models respect and civility for female, POC, LGBTQ+ employees, and supports a healthy, whole life.” He also added that game industry workers have a right to certain protections, noting, “If this week does not show us that our industry colleagues […] need true support and baseline protection, I can’t imagine how much worse it will have to get.”

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I’m just imagining someone waking up and saying to themselves “This will help everything! You did good!” after sending that email and I just laugh.

Employee reactions to Bulatao’s email appeared to be overwhelmingly negative, with workers like Adam Fletcher (the global community development lead for Blizzard IP Diablo) tweeting, “I’m just imagining someone waking up and saying to themselves ‘This will help everything! You did good!’ after sending that email and I just laugh.” Emails between Activision Blizzard executives and staff received public scrutiny in the past, such as chief compliance officer Frances Townsend’s open letter that detailed the exit of over 20 developers and supervisors, as well as the “disciplinary action” levied against another 20. That said, Townsend’s message also admitted the company still hasn’t met employee demands.

With the heads of PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox all publicly condemning Activision Blizzard and accusing the company of responding inadequately to its many allegations, the future of Activision Blizzard rightfully appears to be in limbo. These concerns surrounding the company’s messaging (in general, but especially to its workers) are rational: if the game industry giant wishes to implement measures and structures intended to protect its employees, it is worth questioning what such protections would actually look like, given this recent email.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/activision-blizzard-employees-unionize-warning-cwa-email-busting/

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