Connect with us

Entertainment

Activision Blizzard faces new lawsuit accusing them of intimidation and union busting

The lawsuits are piling up (pic: Blizzard Entertainment)

A second lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard, accusing them of intimidating staff over how they responded to the first one.

What made the first lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard so damning, apart from the photos of the ‘Cosby Suite’ was the fact that it was filed, not by any one employee, but by the State of California – as a result of a two-year long investigation into working practices.

Now, however, employees have filed their own lawsuit, not regarding the original accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination but what Activision Blizzard has done in the meantime to try and coerce employees into not speaking out about workplace conditions.

The new lawsuit claims that ‘Activision Blizzard management is using coercive tactics to attempt to prevent its employees from exercising their rights to stand together and demand a more equitable, sustainable, and diverse workplace’.

One of the first things Activision Blizzard did when news of the original lawsuit broke was hire the same anti-union law firm used by Amazon, with the lawsuit claiming that the publisher ‘threatened employees that they cannot talk about or communicate about wages, hours and working conditions’.

It also alleges that Activision Blizzard spied on and disciplined employees for engaging in ‘protected concerted activity’, namely petitioning for better working conditions.

More: Games news

Employees have formed a worker collective, in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America, called ABetterABK and they have four demands: to end forced arbitration in employment agreements, to adopt more inclusive recruitment and hiring practices, to increase transparency over pay, and for a neutral third party to complete an audit of company policies and practices.

The only one of these demands to be addressed so far is the last one, except the third party Activision Blizzard has chosen is law firm WilmerHale, which has a reputation for union busting…

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.


MORE : McCree from Overwatch will get name change after Blizzard Cosby Suite fallout


MORE : Activision Blizzard ‘withholding and suppressing evidence’ says updated lawsuit


MORE : Activision hid its own logo from Call Of Duty: Vanguard trailer after discrimination lawsuit

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.