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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

#331

Post by Dracophoenix »

mbostleman wrote: post #102
elicash wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Collective bargaining is not at all incompatible with a "free market." It's just a smarter way to negotiate (more power collectively) and the end result is a contract between a company and a group of workers. It's not like, say, a minimum wage where government sets a price.

>>Collective bargaining is not at all incompatible with a "free market.">> For what it's worth, collective bargaining is, from an economic perspective, a monopoly. In anti trust terms it would constitute an illegal combination in trade if it weren't for statutory exemptions that explicitly give it a pass.

Collective bargaining is more of a cartel (a labor cartel in this particular instance) than a monopoly. As one of the gp's pointed out, collective bargaining is not per se anti-free market (e.g. health insurance). Neither for that matter are cartels or monopolies so long as government interference remains absent. After all, free association is a right endowed to every market participants and it is a person's right to do as he/she will with it. I think the issue in this case relates more to national labor law creating uneven advantages for labor contra capital.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#332

Post by wayeq »

dmead wrote: post #257
brainfish wrote: post #26

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 qui…

what the hell am i supposed to replace starcraft with?

i hear Hula Hoops are making a comeback

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#333

Post by scrollaway »

Fordec wrote: post #329
scrollaway wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What were you doing when you were 19 that's any better than calling yourself tigole?

At 19? Getting an engineering degree and all the hours of work that entailed while avoiding getting roped into MMOs by classmates as if it was Corrupted Blood.

We're all very proud of you.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#334

Post by project2501a »

mrmuagi wrote: post #326
project2501a wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno, is Pinkerton notorious for that? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair Edit: wrong Pinkerton massacre.

I am unable to make the connection between WilmerHale, Pinkerton, and the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre (a la 1929) as there seems to be none. Are you implying WilmerHale has a connection to the type of notoriety of a gang slaying?

Sorry I linked the wrong massacre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair

While WilmerHale may not have a direct connection to actually cracking heads open, their current methods were picked directly from the Pinkertons in the 1970s.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#335

Post by user-the-name »

manofmanysmiles wrote: post #232
user-the-name wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Terrible people can say good things, but there are a million good people out there saying good things that you could listen to instead. Why spend the limited time you have in this world on consuming the works of terrible people? There is more out there than you could possibly experience in a lifetime. Why not dedicate that time to people who are not awful?

Learning from an “awful” person helps you grow as a person. Also understanding the enemy. Also not all “consuming” of work is for “entertainment”.

Does it, though? Does it do that in a way that's better than just paying attention to people who aren't awful? I'm really not convinced here.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#336

Post by user-the-name »

harpersealtako wrote: post #260
user-the-name wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Terrible people can say good things, but there are a million good people out there saying good things that you could listen to instead. Why spend the limited time you have in this world on consuming the works of terrible people? There is more out there than you could possibly experience in a lifetime. Why not dedicate that time to people who are not awful?

There are a million authors worth reading if your standards are low enough, but there's only one Friedrich Nietzsche.

There are plenty, plenty of people who are as good or better to read.

There is only one of any given person, that is not an argument to read them either.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#337

Post by anoonmoose »

waterhouse wrote: post #215
anoonmoose wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better comparison would be R. Kelly who, like Cosby, was actually convicted of what he was accused of, and did end up having a lot of radio stations (and other media contexts) stop using his music. Not all, but a good number.

I googled around, and ... has R. Kelly been convicted? Searching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Kelly for the string "convict" yields only the sentence saying "R. Kelly had not ever actually been convicted of any crime", quoting a news article from 2019. There is mention of a "sentencing trial", but the cited article (from Dec 2020) says he has pled not guilty and that evidence will be presented, which also sounds…

Uh, damn, you're right. Honestly, he's been in jail for so long now- 2.5 years and 22 counts against him- that I wrongly assumed/forgot he wasn't/Mandela effected it.

At the time of this writing I had 13 upvotes for a mostly wrong take. Still maintain that the jail time puts Kelly closer to Cosby than Jackson.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#338

Post by stale2002 »

heavyset_go wrote: post #322
stale2002 wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and they're all members So, in other words, their rights to bargain and engage in mutual agreements is restricted. You literally just explained how their rights are limited. Specifically, it is limited in that you have to be a part of this group, to engage in certain agreements. And even within that group, people are prevented from engaging in certain mutual agreements.

> So, in other words, their rights to bargain and engage in mutual agreements is restricted. You can negotiate without union representation. You're also free to be a non-union actor.

> You can negotiate without union representation

There are limits on the contracts that I could engage with, with another mutually interested party, is the point.

If there were no limits, then, almost by definition, it would not be a union.

So yes, a union puts limits on the contracts that mutually interested parties can engage in.

Were you not aware that unions put limits on the contracts that mutually interested parties can engage in?

Did you think that a company, and an interested worker, could just completely ignore union rules, and create their own contract, that conflicts with the rules of the union?

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#339

Post by stale2002 »

tovej wrote: post #324
stale2002 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you are free to negotiate contracts within the limits. So then I am not free to negotiate, and me and this other company right to engage in a mutual agreement are prevented. Yeah, that's my point. > I fail to see how the right to work for less pay I get paid way way way more money than the average unionized tech worker, where they exist. So actually, my ability to negotiate for myself, outside of the restrictions o…

Minimum pay was an example, collectively bargained contracts offer other protections as well, but these differ more from case to case, so I didn't bring them up. I have also negotiated my pay up, but under the umbrella of collective bargaining agreements. As far as I know, you are always able to negotiate your pay up. This has worked pretty well for me as well.

> but these differ more from case to case

Ok... and thats my point. Certain union provisions are bad, for many people, and you cannot pretend that they are a universal good.

> you are always able to negotiate your pay up

Non-union jobs in tech pay way way more, than most union tech jobs though, and union provisions prevent certain contracts that many workers would prefer.

So the actual, measurable facts show that I and many others, in non-union jobs, are doing way better than most unionized tech workers.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#340

Post by erik_seaberg »

heavyset_go wrote: post #309
nate_meurer wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, unions fight hard to take that choice away from people. "Right to work" laws in many states allow people to opt out of union membership and fees. Unions hate these laws and fight relentlessly to get them overturned.

"Right to work" laws force unions to represent workers who are not union members. The truth is that no one is forcing you to work a union job.

A union is free to negotiate a contract that only applies to their own members, they just prefer not to so they can prevent non-members from competing using more favorable terms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members-only_unionism

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