Yesterday saw workers at Activision-Blizzard plan to stage another walkout demonstration over the studio’s COVID policies, but bad weather and employees falling ill apparently put a wrench in those plans for in-person demonstrations. Regardless, proto-union A Better ABK confirmed that some workers were still able to stage a protest, as at least 117 members walked out virtually in solidarity.
This latest demonstration ultimately makes good on a threat to ActiBlizz after it attempted to lift vaccine requirements for employees across the board; the studio swiftly changed course presumably in response to the walkout announcement, allowing individual studios to decide whether to enforce vaccine mandates or not, but workers were still planning on walking out anyway.
A statement from a Blizzard spokesperson read that the company “supports [its] employees’ right to express their opinions in a safe and nonthreatening way, and will not retaliate for any decision to participate in this walkout” and that employees are “encouraged to work with their manager and our HR team to explore options for working arrangements” if they’re uncomfortable with returning to in-person office work.
Due to weather conditions and some members falling ill over the weekend, our in-person demonstrations have been cancelled in favor of a digital demonstration. As of this writing, at least 117 members of the company have walked out in solidarity. #SickOfThis #GameWorkersUnite
— ABetterABK 💙 ABK Workers Alliance (@ABetterABK) April 4, 2022
