In yet another blow to the company, Activision Blizzard's employees have banded together to present the company with yet another lawsuit. This one is focused on the company's policies toward labor and unions.
Earlier this year, Activision Blizzard was hit with a lawsuit about its sexism and fratboy-like working conditions. Based on a two-year investigation by the State of California, Activision is facing accusations from tens of employees who have suffered under its toxic environment. As an extension of this, employees and customers are protesting as more and more bad press is flooding into the public eye. But things have just gotten worse for the massive video game company; another lawsuit is officially on the books against ABK.
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On the 10th of September, 2021, members of the group ABK Workers Alliance filed an unfair labor practice suit with the National Labor Relations Board. The filed case documentation lists several accusations that have been levied against the company, including coercive rules and coercive statements. This coupled with the previous lawsuit as well as Activision Blizzard's investors being unhappy about the company's response to it makes for a pretty rough 2021 for the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft creators.
The lawsuit was created by Activision Blizzard employees who claim their collective attempts to create a union in the company were blocked by management. During a press statement, the workers said that ABK used "coercive tactics" to block employees from banding together, including threats and promises of benefits, intimidation, and even company-wide rules to try and prevent the demand for "a more equitable, sustainable, and diverse workplace."
It should come as a surprise to almost no one, however, as Activision Blizzard has hired the so-called "union busting" WilmerHale law firm for the original harassment suit that California has recently expanded the scope of. This comes after the company began work to fire employees for "bad behavior" and its efforts to try to turn around company culture. However, the ABK Workers Alliance claims that its efforts have been less than stellar. The Alliance is hoping to force the company into new processes, a complete revamp of the HR department and reporting processes, as well as other more meaningful changes to help those previous abused by ABK's current systems.
"If the NLRB rules in our favor," the ABetterABK tweeted on September 14, "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." The tweet earned a lot of positive feedback on Twitter from supporters across the social media platform, and the number of subscribers to Blizzard titles continues to fall.
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