Activision Blizzard employees respond to their CEO, Bobby Kotick, and vow to continue the fight
“The strike will not be a one-time thing that you can ignore. We will not be silent again.”
Activision Blizzard workers remain on the warpath with the company, in its fight to tackle the serious problems of discrimination, harassment and sexual abuse for which the state of California has sued the World of Warcraft company .
As a result of these alleged cases covered by the company, its employees called a strike last Wednesday that provoked an official response from its CEO, Bobby Kotick , who promised to comply with 6 concrete measures to improve the culture of the company. However, this statement has not convinced its workers in the least. The Activision Blizzard employee collective has responded to Bobby Kotick in a second statement (via IGN) where they appreciate that the board has “changed the tone of their statements” as a result of the protests, but consider that his message “does not mention several points key that are the basis of employee concerns“.
Specifically, the workers of the company cite the following four points that neither Bobby Kotick, nor the company, mentioned:
- End of forced arbitration of its employees (currently, workers cannot bring the company to court and must resolve disputes through private channels).
- Participation of workers in the supervision of hiring and promotion policies.
- The need for greater transparency around wages to ensure [work] quality.
- The election by employees of a third party to review the Human Resources department and other company processes.
These are points that either concern employees, or were part of their lawsuits along with that first letter against the company that they published on Monday, and which has already been signed by more than 2,500 workers. “The strike [yesterday] shows that this will not be a one-time thing that our leaders can ignore,” they say in their statement. “We will not be silent again; we will not be appeased by the same processes that have led us precisely to this situation.”
We will not be silent again. This is the beginning of a lasting movementStuffed with AB“This is the beginning of a lasting movement in defense of better working conditions for all employees, especially women, and specifically women of color and transgender people, non-binary people and other oppressed groups ,” the workers’ response continues. “We look forward to a quick response and leadership commitment to action on the points listed above, and we look forward to establishing a constructive dialogue around how to create a better Activision Blizzard for all employees.”
“Today, we stand firm for change. Tomorrow and beyond, we will be the change, ” concludes the response from Activision Blizzard workers to Bobby Kotick, CEO of the company. We recall that this morning Ubisoft employees have signed and published a statement in support of the struggle of these employees , where they have also taken the opportunity to criticize the lack of measures and actions by Ubisoft beyond “pretty words and empty promises. “from a year ago.
