I'm a union organizer. I talk about this on lemmy a lot. Today at 3pm, I got a call from my lawyer that the NLRB had dismissed my case on the grounds that I did not post protected speech. We never made that argument. Rather, we were charging that the company discriminated against me for being a union organizer.
Now that my case no longer exists, I can share receipts and a detailed timeline. You folks get to be the judge now.
On or about October 26, 2020, I started working at Activision Blizzard King as a Quality Assurance tester for Activision Publishing in Eden Prairie, MN on the night shift. My first project was Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Unfortunately my name is not in the credits because I started after the crediting freeze. I was immediately thrown into intense crunch working 70hr weeks, with 1 day off every 8th day. I did this for 6 weeks, before we were reduced to 60hr weeks for 5 weeks. After that, it was mostly 40hr weeks, with occasional 60hr crunch periods happening every so often.
On July 20, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the company for egregious sexual harassment charges. 7 days later on July 27, a work stoppage occurred in protest of the company's response. J Allen Brack from Blizzard resigned in the aftermath.
On November 2, 2021, Jen O'Neal stepped down from cochair due to sexual discrimination. On November 16, 2021, an article was released which detailed ABK CEO Bobby Kotick's extensive complicity in sexual harassment. 2 days later on the 18th, another work stoppage occurred. We petitioned the board of directors to fire Kotick, which they refused to do.
On December 3, 2021, Raven Software laid off 30% of the QA team with no announcement. 3 days later on the 6th, the QA team began a work stoppage that lasted for 6 weeks. On or about December 15, 2021, I became the first union organizer at my office while participating in this work stoppage.
Early 2022, the Communication Workers of America began negotiations for a contract with Microsoft for a historic 2 year Card-Check Neutrality Agreement, in which the company is legally obligated to voluntarily recognize any unions that form during that time period.
On or about September 8, 2023, Microsoft completes the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Neutrality Agreement comes into effect.
On or about November 27, 2023, the company announced a Voluntary Severance Package for employees due to a mandatory requirement to work in the office, without exception for accommodations.
On March 8, 2024, 600 QA employees across Eden Prairie (MN), Austin (TX), and Los Angeles (CA) under Activision Publishing win voluntary recognition forming the largest tech union in North America. They become known as Activision Quality Assurance United, or AQAU-CWA.
October 25, 2024, a rally occurred at 12PM CST at the Eden Prairie office, at which workers protested the untenable accommodations process. Workers with disabilities were suffering due to the lack of flexibility for remote work. I was a lead organizer and the spokesperson for our union in a local news broadcast. The date is also significant due to the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
On or about November 6, 2024, an unknown employee leaks the response of a trans coworker over the presidential election to right wing influencer Grummz. Grummz subsequently posts the picture on X (below). This is significant because any leak, including accidental, are grounds for immediate termination at Activision Blizzard.
On November 16, 2024 at approximately 7PM, I create a slack post advocating for responsible self defense and gun safety. Within the post, I provide options for less-lethal self defense. Both below.
60 hours later, the comment and post were removed by the company. 72 hours later, I attended an HR investigation with my union steward as a Weingarten representative. I was given an estimate that a decision would be reached by Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving arrives without a decision. I leave for vacation to participate in a union conference. When I returned to work on December 9, 2024, I receive notice of immediate termination for cause. See termination letter below.
On January 10, 2025, CWA submits a Request For Information regarding the complaints received about my post. We discover that despite claims of several complaints, there are only 8. Additionally, 6 complaints are from company management, including one of them submitted by the top manager of my office. Additionally, a related RFI for a different case revealed that my termination was an outlier for unprofessional conduct.
On a date unknown to me, CWA and Microsoft begin negotiations to restore my position. The company ultimately rejects the notion, with Chief People Officer Amy Baker issuing the following statement on February 5, 2025. On February 6, I provide my union with corrections to their statement.
In preparation for filing my Unfair Labor Practice, union stewards collected literally hundreds of screenshots involving the discussion of weapons that did not receive discipline. These screenshots don't mean much without appropriate context, which would balloon this already long post, so I'm declining to add them. They also collected character statements about me from multiple coworkers contradicting the company allegations that I was dangerous and that my post was inappropriate, which I have included.
