Yesterday, IGN released an explosive report, shining even more light on the abuse allegedly taking place at Activision Blizzard. Among the new claims, former employees spoke of men walking into breastfeeding rooms, and women not being given time off for urgent medical care. Once again, shockwaves were sent through social media in response, but one ex-Blizzard figure wasn't surprised.
Responding to the article, industry veteran Jeff Strain – who joined Blizzard in 1996 – shared that he was "disgusted and repulsed – but not at all surprised". He further explained his own reasons for leaving the company in the year 2000, and firmly states that he believes things will only improve if the industry unionizes.
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"Unions were started in this country to protect workers from abusive, cruel, abhorrent, unacceptable and illegal treatment from companies", writes Strain, who went on to co-found both ArenaNet and Undead Labs after his departure from Blizzard. "If this week does not show us that our industry colleagues – even the most entry-level QA tester – need true support and baseline protection, I can’t imagine how much worse it will have to get."
On top of this call to action, Strain shared his own reasons for leaving Blizzard over two decades ago. In 1998, Strain says that he had his wife had a meeting with one of the studio founders over their objections to the "dismembered and impaled female body parts" that featured in the Diablo beta. The meeting apparently went so poorly that he, his wife, and several other members of staff began making plans to leave and form a new studio.
It appears that Activision Blizzard has anticipated this call to unionize, as CEO Bobby Kotick recently announced the company would be working with a law firm with a reputation for union-busting. WilmerHale has worked with Amazon in the past, and has experience in "union avoidance" and defending companies accused of discrimination. When asked about the exact nature of Activision's relationship with WilmerHale, a spokesperson said: “WilmerHale has extensive experience helping organizations strengthen their workplace environment by making improvements around policies and procedures related to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation issues.”
WilmerHale has worked with Amazon in the past, and boasts of anti union experience. #gamernews #gamer #activision #lawsuit
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