With the help of a major union, Activision Blizzard employees have filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board against the company, claiming that the game development and publishing giant intimidated, monitored and interrogated workers to prevent them from discussing the work environment.
In partnership with CODE-CWA, we've filed an unfair labor practice suit with the National Labor Relations Board: https://t.co/meGNFYcWJY
— ABetterABK (@ABetterABK) September 14, 2021
Employees working under the banner of A Better ABK (Activision Blizzard King) and CWA (Communication Workers Association of America) claimed that in the past six months, Activision Blizzard had:
- Threaten employees repeatedly with illegal means
- It is forbidden to communicate or discuss current investigations on wages, working hours and working conditions among employees
- Maintaining an overly broad social media management strategy
- Enforce social media management for employees who participate in coordinated behaviors protected by law
- Threat and disciplinary action against these employees
- Surveill these employees and interrogate them
Coordinated behavior protected by law refers to similar behaviors such as discussions among employees on topics such as how to improve the workplace. CWA also stated that Activision Blizzard has hired WilmerHale, a law firm known for assisting Amazon and other companies in anti-union activities.
A Better ABK said on Twitter again: If the NLRB ruling is beneficial to us, the ruling will have a retrospective effect. We will set a precedent that no worker in the United States will be afraid to discuss compulsory arbitration publicly.
If the NLRB rules in our favor, the ruling will be retroactive and we will set a precedent that no worker in the US can be intimidated out of talking about forced arbitration.
— ABetterABK (@ABetterABK) September 14, 2021
Here, compulsory arbitration refers to a common clause in employment contracts that requires some disputes between employees and the company to be resolved privately. One of the requirements of the A Better ABK organization is to completely end these terms.
An Activision Blizzard employee who declined to be identified told Vice that he suspects that the company’s senior management is trying to fire employees who have publicly discussed the company’s suspected workplace discrimination. As of the deadline, Activision Blizzard has not made any response.
