- Activision Blizzard workers, unhappy with the company’s treatment of the Raven Software studio, have risen in protest
- The employees launched a funding round, aiming to garnish a million that will be used to cover their expenses
- The AB Workers Alliance proposed forming a true workers union
Activision Blizzard employees have launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a strike against the unfair treatment of Raven Software employees.
Blizzard Employees Launch a Campaign to Fund a Strike
Another day, another Activision Blizzard development, with workers now preparing a third walkout. The employees, who continue to lose trust in their higher-ups, are staging a strike, asking for funding on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.
This time the strike comes in response to the Raven Software quality assurance employees who suddenly found themselves without a job.
The protesting employees demand a stricter workplace code of conduct and better overall work conditions. They have appealed to all workers within the company, calling them to join forces with the movement.
The GoFundMe campaign aims to cover the losses of the workers who will be going on a strike as they will not be paid for the time missing from the company or will have to use their paid time off, as reported by the Washington Post. A part of the fund will go to support the Raven Software workers who had to move without Blizzard providing them any financial assistance.
The AB Workers Alliance has asked the striking employees to sign union authorization cards and form an official union that will fight for the rights of Activision Blizzard workers. This movement has the potential of becoming the gaming industry’s first official workers union.
The Third Strike in Five Months
Activision Blizzard has seen workers rise in protest a total of three times for the past five months.
The first one occurred when the employees walked in the wake of the lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The department revealed that Blizzard, as a company, has a pervasive “frat-boy” culture and has nurtured a highly unhealthy workplace, especially for female employees.
The second one was once again in relation to the mistreatment of women and happened a few weeks ago one article by the Wall Street Journal claimed that Bobby Kotick, the company’s chief executive officer, knew about the mistreatment of women but tried to cover the case up. People were outraged by the news and many even demanded Kotick’s resignation.
The current strike will be the third instance. For now, the employees’ crowdfunding campaign has earned them a total of $223,000 as of the time of this writing. The final goal of the round is $1 million
