Activision Blizzard Employees Planning Walkout to Call for Improved Working Conditions - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 27 July 2021 / 1,810 Views
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over what is described as a "frat boy" culture at the video game giant. Female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and retaliation, according to the lawsuit.
Pressure on Activision Blizzard is growing with an open letter condemning the response of leadership following the lawsuit that has been signed by over 2,000 current and former employees.
Current Activision Blizzard employees are planning to walkout on Wednesday, July 28, according to a statement released to Polygon.
Employees at the Blizzard campus in Irvine, California plan to meet at the main gate. The protestors will not enter the Blizzard Campus "due to the current COVID health and security measures." Employees online will use the #ActiBlizzWalkout hashtag to participate virtually. Workers across the video game industry are being encouraged to support the protest.
The organizers are also asking supports to donate to variety of charities: Black Girls Code, Futures Without Violence, Girls Who Code, RAINN, Women in Animation, and Women in Games International. This will be a way to "stand in solidarity."
Read the statement on the walkout below:
Given last week’s statements from Activision Blizzard, Inc. and their legal counsel regarding the DFEH lawsuit, as well as the subsequent internal statement from Frances Townsend, and the many stories shared by current and former employees of Activision Blizzard since, we believe that our values as employees are not being accurately reflected in the words and actions of our leadership.
As current Activision Blizzard employees, we are holding a walkout to call on the executive leadership team to work with us on the following demands, in order to improve conditions for employees at the company, especially women, and in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups.
1. An end to mandatory arbitration clauses in all employee contracts, current and future. Arbitration clauses protect abusers and limit the ability of victims to seek restitution.
2. The adoption of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and promotion policies designed to improve representation among employees at all levels, agreed upon by employees in a company-wide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion organization. Current practices have led to women, in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups that are vulnerable to gender discrimination not being hired fairly for new roles when compared to men.
3. Publication of data on relative compensation (including equity grants and profit sharing), promotion rates, and salary ranges for employees of all genders and ethnicities at the company. Current practices have led to aforementioned groups not being paid or promoted fairly.
4. Empower a company-wide Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion task force to hire a third party to audit ABK’s reporting structure, HR department, and executive staff. It is imperative to identify how current systems have failed to prevent employee harassment, and to propose new solutions to address these issues.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Very good, keep going!
Will be interesting to see Activisions response. How long will they continue to shit on everyones head?
Good that they do this, but now walk the walk of shame to attack and ban gamers from Hong Kong, only to please China.
I remember the day they built that Orc status, different times indeed.
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