The Communications Workers of America announced it is filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against an Activision contractor. The union alleges that the contractor, Lionbridge Technologies, laid off 160 workers in retaliation for an attempt to unionize.
Did an Activision contractor wrongfully lay off workers?
The company provided QA testing for the Microsoft subsidiary Activision when it laid off the Boise, Idaho team. Lionbridge justified this latest example of gaming layoffs by telling workers that the project was over. However, work was still underway at the offices in Mexico and Poland. According to the CWA, Lionbridge terminated workers “in retaliation for workers engaging in protected organizing activities and protected speech when raising issues regarding their working conditions.” Doing so violates federal law.
Workers targeted by this gaming layoff were also allegedly offered a severance package with unreasonably broad confidentiality terms. The Activision contractor also asked the laid-off employees to waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, something that the NLRB ruled was illegal. The CWA’s statement also notes that this is the second time Lionbridge has engaged in union-busting while working with Microsoft.
“In 2022,” the union wrote, “Microsoft adopted principles for engagement with worker organizations, which recognized workers’ legal rights to organize and expressed a belief in ‘the importance of listening to our employees’ concerns.’ This team of subcontracted workers and all U.S. workers enjoy those same rights and protections. CWA expects Microsoft to hold its contractors to the same standards the company has set for itself, as stated in its principles.”
