Taylor Hicks

This is a big-time event in an industry that does not have many unions,” he said. “This is the beginning of a trend where people want to be heard in the workplace.”

Friday’s announcement comes after at least 60 employees at Raven staged a walkout in December 2021 to protest layoffs of contract workers they said were unfair.

“We want to see changes that reflect the wants and needs of both the gaming community and the workers who create these incredible products,” Brent Reel, a quality assurance employee at Raven, said in a statement That suit alleged women across the company were paid less than men and “assigned to lower paid and lower opportunity levels”. It also alleged a “frat boy” workplace culture in which men got drunk at work and crawled into women’s cubicles to harass them.

A spokesman from Activision Blizzard said the company is “carefully reviewing the request for voluntary recognition”. The union is giving the company until 25 January to respond.

“While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union,” the Activision Blizzard spokesman said.
The spokesman added that in the past two years, Activision Blizzard raised minimum compensation for Raven QA employees and extended other benefits.
Experts say the issues cited in the suit against Activision Blizzard are exacerbated by the high turnover rate of the industry, which often relies on contract and temporary workers.
Those same problems make organizing more difficult, said Amanda Cote, professor at University of Oregon and author of Gaming Sexism: Gender and Identity in the Era of Casual Video Games.
“A small union is a step, but may not be enough to change overall industrial labor patterns,” she said, but added that this union marks “the first of its kind in the video game industry”.
As 2022 begins, and you're joining us from Japan, there’s a new year resolution we’d like you to consider. We’d like to invite you to join more than 1.5 million people in 180 countries who have taken the step to support us financially – keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent the ning form

In 2021, this support sustained investigative work into offshore wealth, spyware, sexual harassment, labour abuse, environmental plunder, crony coronavirus contracts, and Big Tech. It enabled diligent, fact-checked, authoritative journalism to thrive in an era of falsehood, sensation, hype and breathtaking misinformation and misconception.

In 2022, we’ll be no less active, with a cluster of elections (France, Brazil, the US to say the least), economic pinch points, the next phase of the pandemic, the gathering climate emergency and the first ‘winter World Cup’ to keep us busy.

With no shareholders or billionaire owner, we can set our own agenda and provide trustworthy journalism that’s free from commercial and political influence, offering a counterweight to the spread of misinformation. When it’s never mattered more, we can investigate and challenge without fear or favour.

Unlike many others, Guardian journalism is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe in information equality. Greater numbers of people can keep track of global events, understand their impact, and become inspired to take meaningful action.

If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.

website: https://notes.io/Pk3i

Views: 13

Reply to This

About

Taylor Hicks created this Ning Network.

© 2024   Created by Taylor Hicks.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service