Jessica Gonzalez (labor organizer)

Last updated

Jessica Gonzalez
Born1992or1993(age 31–32)
OccupationLabor organizer
Employer CODE-CWA
Known forLabor organizing
Notable work A Better ABK
ABK Workers Alliance
Game Workers Alliance

Jessica Gonzalez (born 1992 or 1993) [1] is an American labor organizer working with CODE-CWA, the Communication Workers of America's Campaign to Organize Digital Employees. She is known for her work organizing in the video game industry and founding A Better ABK, the worker advocacy group at Activision Blizzard, and co-founding ABK Workers Alliance, a solidarity union, and Game Workers Alliance, the Raven Software union.

Contents

Career and activism

Gonzalez joined Activision Blizzard (ABK) in 2015 as a quality assurance (QA) tester. She left the company for a few years to work for Boundless Entertainment, but returned to ABK in 2019 until leaving the company in 2021 due to what she alleged to be a hostile working environment. [2] [3] [4] She worked briefly for a financial tech company following her departure, [5] while working part-time as an organizer with CODE-CWA. She later joined CODE-CWA full-time. [2] [6]

Gonzalez also alleged that in QA at ABK, testers were treated as "second-class citizens", which ABK denies. [2] A former colleague told Axios that Gonzalez "was the spark that started the explosion", referring to the founding of A Better ABK, [7] which was founded in 2021 following a walkout in protest of the company's response to accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination. [8] Gonzalez and the worker organizers staged further walkouts during 2021 and 2022. [9]

Shortly after leaving ABK, Gonzalez, along with other A Better ABK organizers, started a strike fund on GoFundMe to help organizers take unpaid time off to participate in the group's walk-outs. [10]

In 2021, Gonzalez helped form ABK Workers' Alliance. [11]

In 2022, she and former colleague Josh Miller began a podcast on the streaming platform Twitch called Weekly Standup discussing worker's rights and unionization in tech. [12] Also in 2022, Gonzalez appealed the $18 million settlement Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's concurrent California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard lawsuit, [2] which was struck down by the courts on March 22, 2022. [13]

In 2022, Gonzalez co-founded Game Workers Alliance (GWA), a union made up of QA testers at Raven Software, a Subsidiary of ABK. [14] GWA is the first labor union at a AAA games developer. [15] Also in 2022, she, along with 11 other current and former ABK employees, formed an anti-discrimination committee. [16]

Personal life

Gonzalez lives in San Pedro, Los Angeles. [17]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Browning, Kellen (May 23, 2022). "A Vote by Activision Workers Could Give Unions a Foothold in Gaming". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Klar, Rebecca (July 18, 2022). "Changing the game in gaming". The Hill. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  3. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (November 30, 2021). "Activision Blizzard walkout organizer resigns". Axios. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  4. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (December 2021). "This major Activision Blizzard resignation exposes a troubling new trend". Inverse. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ Wille, Matt (December 2021). "One of Activision's top organizers just walked out for good". Input. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ Francis, Bryant Francis (July 22, 2022). "Devs protest Activision Blizzard's response to abortion rights crisis". Game Developer. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (November 30, 2021). "Activision Blizzard walkout organizer resigns". Axios. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Activision Blizzard employees file unfair labor practice suit against company". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  9. ↑ Browning, Kellen (January 21, 2022). "Workers at an Activision game studio say they are forming a union". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ Totilo, Stephen; Farokhmanesh, Megan (December 9, 2021). "Activision Blizzard union efforts intensify". Axios. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  11. ↑ Limbong, Andrew (February 17, 2022). "Will Activision Blizzard workers unionize? Microsoft's deal complicates things". NPR.org. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ Bell, Brian (March 9, 2022). "With New Series Weekly Standup, Former Activision Blizzard Employees Are Raising Their Voices On Workers' Rights, Unionization". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Liao, Shannon (March 22, 2022). "Judge likely to approve $18 million Activision Blizzard sexual harassment suit settlement". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  14. ↑ Limbong, Andrew (May 24, 2022). "The Activision Blizzard union vote could signal a big change in the video game world". NPR.org. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan. "Video Gaming Got Its First Major Union. Now What?". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  16. ↑ Liao, Shannon (May 24, 2022). "Activision Blizzard worker committee demands anti-discrimination reform". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  17. ↑ " @_TechJess " (Jessica Gonzalez) on Twitter
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