Battlechat Blizzard, Destiny 2 and Starfield News, Reviews, Videos & GuidesProletariat, an Activision Blizzard studio, has dropped its unionization proposal due to “confrontational methods” from both its parent firm and current CEO.
In July of last year, Proletariat formally joined Activision Blizzard, and its crew began working on World of Warcraft. The studio helps Blizzard with writing new stories and delivering amazing new experiences for both current and future World of Warcraft players.
A group of 57 employees revealed plans to join the Proletariat Workers Alliance last month. The union will push for flexible scheduling, remote work as a permanent option, improved pay transparency, and guarantees that overtime will never be required.
“Unfortunately, Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak chose to follow Activision Blizzard’s lead and responded to the workers’ desire to form a union with confrontational tactics,” the union said. “Like many founders, he took the workers’ concerns as a personal attack and held a series of meetings that demoralized and disempowered the group, making a free and fair election impossible.
“As we have seen at Microsoft’s Zenimax studio, there is another path forward, one that empowers workers through a free and fair process, without intimidation or manipulation by the employer. We will continue to advocate alongside workers in the video game industry for better working conditions, higher standards and a union voice.” via Gamesindustry.biz
Activision Blizzard refused to recognize the union, instead requesting a formal vote with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that this route “allows employees to acquire all of the facts and multiple points of view.
A Blizzard spokesman reached out to Gamespot making a statement regarding Proletariat’s decision:
“We appreciate that the CWA has unilaterally decided to withdraw its petition in response to employee feedback.,” the representative wrote. “As we’ve stated, we welcomed the opportunity for each employee to safely express their preferences through a confidential vote. Our team at Proletariat does extraordinary work every day. They remain focused on continuing to make Proletariat a place where all can grow, thrive, and be part of an amazing team and culture.” – Gamespot.com
