Here’s why thousands of Activision-Blizzard employees are planning to strike
It’s about accountability
So, here’s the thing
There’s a lot of blood in the water right now. Once tomorrow’s strike kicks off it’ll be difficult for anyone to control the narrative. And that makes right now the best time to explain what’s actually happening.
First off, the employees aren’t just staging a protest over the fact that the harassment occurred. If everyone who worked for a company with a shitty, misogynistic work culture striked everyday, the world would come to a screeching halt.
No, per theemployee letterthat’s now been signed by nearly a quarter of all Activision-Blizzard employees, they’re striking over the company’sresponse to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges more than just sexual harassment. It also contains salary details for the top male and female executives and describes the average pay for all employees. And these figures clearly demonstrate that Activision-Blizzard intentionally pays women less than men.
Unless the state of California has incorrect salary information (which would likely indicate the company’s not been honest with its tax disclosures), it’s apparent that the state’s report contains at least a modicum of evidence to support its allegations against the company.
The employees planning to strike are angry because the company responded to the lawsuit by claiming it was frivolous, unfounded, and full of misinformation.
Basically, the company is denying what thousands of employees and a panel of state investigators claim to be true.
If the allegations are true, the people who work for the company would be justified in believing it owes it to them to address the allegations directly and engage in good-faith efforts to fix the problems.
Unfortunately for everyone, lawyers and public relations teams aren’t as interested in doing what’s morally right as they are in practicing effective damage control.
Activision-Blizzard posted over $8 billion in profits last year. All it has to do in order to move past this little kerfuffle is wait a few weeks and pay a team of crack lawyers to deny, defend, and delay until the lawsuit either goes away or results in a paltry fine.
Because, realistically, the next installment ofCall of Dutywill recoup those expenses in sales within the first 24 hours – if not during the pre-order phase.
Arguably, the only people who can actually hold the company’s leaders accountable are its current employees.
And to that, we say godspeed.
Here’s the Activision Blizzard employee letter in its entirety:
Story byTristan Greene
Tristan is a futurist covering human-centric artificial intelligence advances, quantum computing, STEM, physics, and space stuff. Pronouns:(show all)Tristan is a futurist covering human-centric artificial intelligence advances, quantum computing, STEM, physics, and space stuff. Pronouns: He/him
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