We hope you weren’t holding your breath on Activision-Blizzard shareholders doing the right thing, but if you were, you can exhale now: Proposal 6, which suggested that the company should basically guarantee to stay out of the way of workers’ right to unionize, has been struck down in the latest shareholders annual meeting.
The annual meeting report effectively confirms that ABK got everything it wanted, including approval of executive compensation and the reelection of the board chairman and all director nominees.
In addition to the “nay” votes for the right to organize proposal, shareholders also rescinded a proposal for the company to report its efforts to prevent abuse, harassment, and discrimination, which ActiBlizz claimed was covered in its DEI stats reports but has effectively turned into a platform for the company to pat itself on the back or provide the barest minimum of data, all while its actual corporate action is misaligned with the self-reporting.
“We appreciate the productive dialogue with our shareholders about our policies, Transparency Report, and ongoing commitment to foster the most welcoming and inclusive workplace in our industry,” CEO Bobby Kotick is quoted in the presser. “By sharing an unfiltered view of the company, I believe we have established a new disclosure precedent not just for our company, but for all other organizations committed to workplace excellence. Maintaining a culture where each employee is respected, valued, and heard is our top priority, and we’re grateful to have the support of our shareholders in these efforts.”
Of course, this is said in a corporate bubble: The actual action of ABK has been one of months of malfeasance in both recent and distant history, led by a CEO haunted by years of controversies, lawsuits, and union-busting – one who is still clawing at UK and US regulators to approve a multi-billion dollar buyout by Microsoft. And now it would appear that the beat will go on at the C-suite level.
