Activision employees walk off the job seeking abortion, LGBTQ support

A note from the group said that hundreds of employees walked off the job on Thursday in an effort to get company support for employees living in locations that are passing anti- abortion, anti lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer legislation.

Participants in the "Walkout to End Gender Inequity" demanded that the company help employees who want to avoid legislation by moving to "safe states." It would mean allowing fully remote work for nearly all employees and paying for relocation costs and cost of living adjustments for employees who move to "safe states."

The strike was supported by a donation-based strike fund and was joined by 450 employees. Participants came from multiple offices of the company, including the headquarters in Irvine, California.

Female workers have faced harassment and working conditions haven't improved according to the mayor. It's not possible to hope that Microsoft will do better.

The right of employees to express their views and values in a safe, responsible way is supported by the company. Ensuring we are the best place to work is a priority for our leadership team. Ensuring gender equity and comprehensive access to reproductive and other health care services for every employee is part of this.

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A growing movement?

In terms of raw numbers, the strike represents a small portion of the company's North American work force. The labor action is the latest sign of a small but growing union movement.

Today, ABK workers walked out to demand an end to gender inequity! ✊ pic.twitter.com/UirQs3hc4j

— CWA (@CWAUnion) July 21, 2022

Members of the Raven Software quality assurance team formally formed a union in January and won a National Labor Relations Board election for recognition last month, meaning Activision Blizzard management must bargain with them. Raven Software is a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Those employees were recently joined by QA testers at Blizzard Albany, whose 20 members filed for union recognition this week.

The groups are supported by a subsidiary of the Communication Workers of America that has been working for years to organize workers in the game industry.

Raven Software developers previously staged a walkout to protest layoffs affecting nearly 30 percent of the team late last year, followed by a company-wide strike joined by roughly 200 employees. That strike ended in January as a "gesture of good faith" ahead of the then-pending recognition of the Raven Software union, organizers said.

Hundreds of employees were promoted from contractors to full time in April. The promotion didn't apply to the workers who were trying to form a union.

There was a "walkout for equality" at the company in July of last year.

Microsoft said last month that it was entering a labor agreement with the CWA. The groups said that the agreement would allow employees to make a choice about union representation.