Activisionhas been accused of violating a number of labor laws, and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed charges against the gaming company. This violation has emerged followingActivision’s decision to fire two quality assurance testers who previously worked for the publisher.
Activision has had a reputationfor a number of years as being an anti-union organization. Unionization has been a major talking point for years in the gaming industry, due to the ever-growing amount of forced overtime work being demanded of video game developers prior to the launch of high profile titles, among other things. The lack of a union within the gaming industry means that employees aren’t automatically afforded the option to have a union representative present during meetings pertaining to the future of their career.
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Activision recently announced its return-to-office plan, which has been met with resistance across the board. Two QA testers raised concerns about the increased cost of living that would result from this decision and argued that, while they could work in the office, not all of their colleagues could afford to. The two employees reportedly expressed themselves using explicit language, and a disciplinary meeting was arranged during which they were both fired. As a result, the CWA has filed charges against Activision based on what was said during the meeting and how the company handled the situation.
More specifically, the CWA has brought these charges againstActivision CEO Bobby Kotick, claiming that he is ultimately responsible for breaking labor laws. Prior to the meeting that ultimately ended with the QA testers being laid off on February 17, the employees requested to have a third colleague present to serve as a witness to the disciplinary hearing. This is possibly because the QA testers were aware that Activision was looking to terminate their employment. This request was denied by Activision, meaning that the ex-employees had no one else in their corner during the meeting.
Activision issued a statement to Kotaku in response to the situation: “We don’t allow employees to use profane or abusive language against each other. We’re disappointed the CWA advocates this type of behavior.”
The CWA argues that the outrage voiced by the QA testers during the meeting falls under an employee’s right to freedom of expression. It also accuses Activision of repeatedly treating its employees poorly and getting away with it due to the sheerperceived size and market value of Activision. According to the CWA, Activision’s decision to fire these two workers after joining the company-wide opposition of the return-to-office plan is purely retaliatory.
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