The strike is underway. Today, Jason Schreier, Bloomberg's reporter, reported that Activision Blizzard employees plan a strike for Wednesday, July 28, in protest at the company's recent response to a lawsuit.The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed suit on 22 July against the Santa Monica-based firm.The company was investigated by the department. It fostered a frat-boy culture, paid women less and hired women less. And its leadership was dominated by white men.The affidavit is:The pervasive frat-boy workplace culture that defendants have fostered is also thriving. Women are often subject to cube crawls, in which male employees consume copious amounts of alcohol while crawling through cubicles. They also engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees. Male employees are proud to come into work drunk, play video games for long periods, joke about rape, and engage in banter about sexual encounters.One female employee was specifically mentioned in the affidavit. She took her own life on a business trip she was taking with a male supervisor. He had brought along butt plugs, lubricant and other items.Here's the deal.Right now, there is a lot blood in the water. It will be hard for anyone to control the narrative once tomorrow's strike starts. This makes it the ideal time to explain what's really happening.First, employees are not protesting harassment. The world would be a shaming place if everyone working for a misogynistic company culture struck every day.According to an employee letter signed by almost a quarter Activision-Blizzard workers, they are striking over the company's response.This lawsuit goes beyond sexual harassment. The lawsuit also includes details about the salaries of the top male and women executives, as well as the average salary for all employees. These figures show that Activision Blizzard deliberately pays women less than men.If the state of California does not have incorrect salary information, which would indicate that the company has not been truthful with its tax disclosures, it is apparent that the state report contains at most a minimal amount of evidence supporting its claims against the company.The company's response to the lawsuit was a resounding no thanks.The company denies what thousands of employees and state investigators have claimed to be true.If true, employees of the company would have every right to believe that the company owes them a duty to address the allegations and make good-faith attempts to resolve the issues.Unfortunately, public relations and lawyers are not as interested in morality as they are in effective damage control.Last year, Activision-Blizzard made over $8 billion in profit. It is enough to wait for a few weeks before paying a team crack lawyers to delay the lawsuit or to defend it.Realistically, Call of Duty's next installment will be able to recoup the expenses in sales within 24 hours, if not during pre-order.It is possible to argue that the only ones who can hold company leaders responsible are the current employees.We say, "Godspeed!"Here's the entire Activision Blizzard employee correspondence:
