The American Communications Workers Union (now called by its English acronym, CWA) is also suing Activision Blizzard, the publisher run by Bobby Kotick, for often failing to operate properly.

While writing this article, some updates have happened. CWA filed a complaint at the National Labor Relations Board (shortened to NLRB onwards). According to the NLRB database, the formal charge was made September 10, alleging various violations of a section of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, making it illegal for companies to interfere with employees’ rights to self-organize and form labour unions.

The ABetterABK group announced the move on Twitter, saying it filed the complaint in partnership with CODE-CWA (which is CWA’s group explicitly working to bring unions to the tech, game, and other digital industries in the United States and Canada). “If the NLRB rules in our favour, 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,” ABetterABK wrote.

And now, the fresh news: the charge is publicly available on the CWA website, with the union saying that Activision “has threatened employees that they cannot talk about or communicate about wages, hours and working conditions”, as well as threatening or disciplining “employees on account of protected concerted activity.”

“The bravery of ABK workers exceptionally inspires us, and we will always stand shoulder to shoulder with workers fighting harassment, assault, and discrimination. Management could have responded with humility and a willingness to take the necessary steps to address the horrid conditions some ABK workers have faced. Instead, Activision Blizzard’s response to righteous worker activity was surveillance, intimidation, and hiring notorious union busters.

The National Labor Relations Board under the Biden Administration has made it clear that it will hold companies accountable whenever they break the law; we have filed these charges to ensure that the actions of ABK management will not go unanswered,” Tom Smith, national organizing director at CWA commented.

This is the second time a group with ties to the American state has filed a lawsuit against the publisher in a short period…

Source: Gamesindustry