ABK Workers Alliance (ABK standing for "Activision-Blizzard-King") is a group of organized workers from video game company Activision Blizzard. Formed in response to a July 2021 state lawsuit against the company for harassment and discriminatory work practices, the worker advocacy group A Better ABK organized walkouts and demonstrations against the company's policy and practices. The quality assurance workers of subsidiary Raven Software went on strike in December after part of the team was fired. The striking workers announced their union as the Game Workers Alliance in late January 2022 and offered to end the strike pending their union's recognition.
Background
California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard in July 2021 with claims of having fostered a toxic "frat boy" work culture in which women were routinely subject to harassment and discrimination. The company's dismissive response upset employees, who sought to see the company's workplace issues addressed. Activision Blizzard, worth $65 billion,[1] employs about 10,000 people. A Better ABK, a worker advocacy group, formed in response to the allegations to push for company change.[2]
History
A Better ABK organized two walkouts at Activision Blizzard in 2021 in response to the sexual harassment case against the company. In July, the group organized a "Walkout for Equality" for specific internal policy changes on topics including arbitration, diversity, and recruitment. Another walkout in November followed a report in The Wall Street Journal that CEO Bobby Kotick had known and not acted on harassment and abuse claims. Over 100 employees demonstrated outside Blizzard's headquarters[3][4] and 1,700 workers signed a petition for Kotick's resignation.[5]
During the same period, the ABK Workers Alliance took several public actions. The group listed four demands: ending forced arbitration, more inclusive hiring protocol, increased compensation policy transparency, and an audit of the company's internal policies by a neutral third party.[6] The Alliance objected to Kotick's choice of legal counsel to audit the company's workplace[7]
Unionization
See also
- Unionization in the tech sector
- Game Workers Unite
Further reading
External links
References
- Kellen Browning, Mike Isaac. Activision, Facing Internal Turmoil, Grapples With #MeToo Reckoning The New York Times, 2021-07-29, retrieved January 24, 2022^
- Ash Parrish. Activision Blizzard ends forced arbitration as CEO takes a massive pay cut The Verge, 2021-10-28, retrieved 2022-01-24^
- Kyle Orland. Activision Blizzard 'Walkout for Equality' to protest management inaction