Jessica Gonzalez (labor organizer)

Jessica Gonzalez
Born1992 or 1993 (age 31–32)
OccupationLabor organizer
EmployerCODE-CWA
Known forLabor organizing
Notable workA 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.

Career and activism

See also: Activision Blizzard worker organization

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

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. ^ a b c d 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