After a lawsuit from the federal department of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), Activision Blizzard faces further legal action, and this time it is from the very employees of the company.
Employees at Activision Blizzard along with ABetterABK and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have filed a new lawsuit over unfair labor practices. The lawsuit accuses Activision Blizzard of violating federal labor laws through intimidation, union-busting, and surprising evidence.
In a press release yesterday (14th Sept), CWA alleges that Activision Blizzard is retaliating against employee efforts to organize by “using coercive tactics to attempt to prevent its employees from exercising their rights to stand together and demand a more equitable, sustainable, and diverse workplace.”
The current lawsuit follows on the July lawsuit filed by the state of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for its “pervasive frat boy workplace culture.”
Tom Smith, national Organizing Director at CWA said:
“We are very inspired by the bravery of ABK workers, and we will always stand shoulder to shoulder with workers fighting harassment, assault, and discrimination. Management could have responded with humility and a willingness to take the necessary steps to address the horrid conditions some ABK workers have faced. Instead, Activision Blizzard’s response to righteous worker activity was surveillance, intimidation, and hiring notorious union busters. The National Labor Relations Board under the Biden Administration has made it clear that it will hold companies accountable whenever they break the law; we have filed these charges to ensure that the actions of ABK management will not go unanswered.”
For the past 3 months, Activision Blizzard as a company is undergoing the federal agency lens for its culture of “constant sexual harassment” and “turning a blind eye to complaints”.
Some faces such as Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, Head of HR Jesse Meschuk, and three more high profile Blizzard employees have left the company following the lawsuit.
Since then the company has tried various things such as CEO Bobby Kotick’s letter promising to improve the culture and amend the wrong, to hiring union busters to stop employees from unionizing, the company has failed miserably to appease its employee.
