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Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

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Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#21

Post by ocdtrekkie »

seany wrote: post #8

I've never understood why people are confused or upset by these kinds of things. It's almost literally not in the companies best interest to just "let it happen" so why wouldn't they fight it?

It probably depends in some part on the replaceability of your workforce: Burning your workers isn't a big deal if they're cashiers. But if they're software engineers, burning the company's reputation with them may not be in the company's best interest: You might end up with a company that has no unionizers but also lost all its key talent.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#22

Post by juped »

unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #9

WilmerHale is not a notorious union-busting firm. The older set might know their work from A Civil Action, and their grandparents might remember the phrase that turned the red scare, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"[1] The marketing material is unfortunate, though, and the connection with Amazon labor work is notable. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmer_Cutler_Pickering_Hale...

yeah they're just biglaw, any biglaw firm does everything

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#24

Post by ocdtrekkie »

failuser wrote: post #11
pm90 wrote: post #3

Is there any way to break the stranglehold of large studios and enable smaller studios to build high quality games? I loved Blizzard back when they made their OG triad (Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft) now it just seems indistinguishable from…EA. How can we enable more scrappy Blizzards?

I think it’s easier than ever. They engines are free and even individual developers can build incredible games. The harder part might be getting enough publicity.

Even then, Epic Games will promote the heck out of a small indie launch if it's exclusive for a year. Many of the developers they've worked with are one or two person shops.

The days where being buried in the bottom of Steam listings is gone, as long as you aren't insisting on launching via Steam.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#25

Post by cratermoon »

unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #9

WilmerHale is not a notorious union-busting firm. The older set might know their work from A Civil Action, and their grandparents might remember the phrase that turned the red scare, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"[1] The marketing material is unfortunate, though, and the connection with Amazon labor work is notable. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmer_Cutler_Pickering_Hale...

What does any of that have to do with whether or not the firm is notorious for union-busting? Representing a polluting corporation against citizens suing it for making them sick is 100% compatible with busting unions.

[Originally I had gotten this backwards and stated that WilmerHale represented the citizens]

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#26

Post by brainfish »

I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other.

I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and quit playing Hearthstone at that time. However I had still played some of my other old favorites, reasoning that I was not providing them further financial support. The recent announcements about their terrible, sexist culture had challenged that notion for me, and I was not sure what to do.

This news is the straw that breaks my back. That Activision/Blizzard would double down on their despicable behavior and stance in this way is completely beyond the pale, and I for one will never again fire up those games that I loved so much.

Thanks for ruining that for me, Blizzard.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzchung_controversy

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#27

Post by minikites »

ashtonkem wrote: post #23

Union busting behavior is not that surprising, but talk about awful timing. Do the people at the top not consider the PR implications of this stuff?

Not enough people are going to unsubscribe from WoW for it to make a difference, enough of the public is anti-union and many of the rest don't care.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#28

Post by cratermoon »

failuser wrote: post #18
post_break wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry I don't understand your comment, can you expand on it?

Why would influential people leave as a result of such scandals? They built that culture and will benefit from its proliferation.

You seem to be equating "influential" with "culture leading".

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#29

Post by ashtonkem »

minikites wrote: post #27
ashtonkem wrote: post #23

Union busting behavior is not that surprising, but talk about awful timing. Do the people at the top not consider the PR implications of this stuff?

Not enough people are going to unsubscribe from WoW for it to make a difference, enough of the public is anti-union and many of the rest don't care.

I’m actually seeing a lot of rage directed at them from the gaming forums I interact on, including a lot of people claiming that they’ve canceled. Completely anecdotal, I know, but it was not what I expected at all. I think this one is going to hurt more than usual.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#30

Post by disposableuname »

unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #9

WilmerHale is not a notorious union-busting firm. The older set might know their work from A Civil Action, and their grandparents might remember the phrase that turned the red scare, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"[1] The marketing material is unfortunate, though, and the connection with Amazon labor work is notable. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmer_Cutler_Pickering_Hale...

They're a biglaw firm, which has its hands in many, many fields. If WilmerHale had anything resembling a specialty, it would corporate/finance law.
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