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March 8th, 2024 saw the announcement of another new union in the video game industry at Activision. 600 workers across Texas, California, and Minnesota came together with the organizing efforts of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) to form the Activision Quality Assurance United (AQAU). This comes after 1,900 jobs were cut at Activision in January from Microsoft after only acquiring the brand approximately three months earlier in October 2023. The CWA also has led organizing efforts at other Microsoft subsidiaries, successfully organizing unions at Zenimax Online, Blizzard, and Raven Software making the total employees represented by unions at over 1,000 members at Microsoft.

This news comes as studios across the industry have suffered massive layoffs totaling over 8,000 positions. The CWA was able to secure severance benefits for temporary workers and save a number of jobs at Sega in the Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS), but the industry is still massively unorganized in the US as the number of workers totals over 260,000, meaning unions currently make up less than 1%.

The CWA and Microsoft reached a labor neutrality agreement back in June of 2022 that would begin 60 days after the acquisition of Activision.

“This agreement provides a pathway for Activision Blizzard workers to exercise their democratic rights to organize and collectively bargain after the close of the Microsoft acquisition and establishes a high road framework for employers in the games industry. Microsoft’s binding commitments will give employees a seat at the table and ensure that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard benefits the company’s workers and the broader video game labor market.”
– CWA President Chris Shelton on labor neutrality agreement

Workers at AQAU are the first to organize under the agreement, but Microsoft also chose a neutral stance towards organizing efforts last year at Zenimax Studios. The workers at Activision will join CODE-CWA along with other tech workers in various industries and companies and joining CWA Locals 9400 (California), 6215 (Texas), and 7250 (Minnesota) respectively.

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The World Federation of Trade Unions along with our brothers and sisters in Palestine remembers and condemns this day every year, which marked the beginning of the occupation, the illegal settlement and the crimes of Israel against the Palestinian people.

Today, 76 years after the Nakba Day, a new Nakba is being performed by the murderous state of Israel, with the support of the USA, the EU and the rest of their allies. Continuing its methodical tactic of genocide and the total expulsion of the Palestinians from their land, Israel is proceeding with the attack on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are trying to survive. The intensifying aggression and the imminent attack are going to multiply the civilian and child victims in the Gaza Strip.

The consistent and principled support and solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people had always been a priority for the international class-oriented trade union movement. The only way to guarantee and consolidate peace and security in the region is to immediately end Israeli occupation and settlement on Palestinian land, as stipulated in dozens of resolutions of the UN and other International Organisations and institutions that have never been respected by Israel, including the recent decision of the International Court. An independent Palestinian state must be established on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, guaranteeing the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

On the occasion of the 76^th anniversary of Nakba Day, the WFTU expresses once again its full solidarity with the Palestinian people. The class-oriented trade union movement, will continue proudly waving the Palestinian flag next to the flag of the WFTU, demanding an end to the genocide, and standing in the right side of history!

We reiterate our call to affiliates and friends to intensify all actions in solidarity with Palestine through mass demonstrations, mobilizations, protests, strikes, initiatives and struggles of various forms, using the means of military, commercial, academic and institutional boycotts.

We salute the militant students in the US, Europe and elsewhere, who despite the repression, have flooded dozens of universities demanding an end to the massacre and the non-engagement of their countries in the crime against the Palestinian people.

In the framework of intensifying the internationalist solidarity for Palestine, the WFTU is organizing a solidarity visit of a wide International Delegation with the participation of trade unionist of the WFTU from every continent, inside Palestine, for the last week of June. This visit aims to strengthen the solidarity and support of the large WFTU family to the hard struggle of the Palestinian people. Through the visits in several Palestinian areas, through the activities organized, and through the meetings with Palestinian workers, officials, refugees and the political leadership of the country, the WFTU International Delegation will convey in a more direct way the message that our brothers and sisters in Palestine are not alone in their struggle.

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More than 150 Limited Energy (LE) workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 46 in Kent, Washington, are on strike after failing to come to an agreement with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) on Thursday, April 11th. The LE workers spent the week leading up to the strike on training and with the help of other trades were able to shut down five job sites.

“NECA wants us to continue working day in and day out with NO paid time off, and FORCED unpaid furlough on holidays. Union workers fought hard to set the original standard for paid holidays and PTO across the workforce. Management at the NECA contractors we work for enjoy the benefits of that hard-fought paid time off, but we don’t. It’s time for that to change.” Kaylin Ullman, Local 46 strike captain

Local 46 has “not been on strike since after WWII,” said Megan Kirby. “We DID NOT want to call for a STRIKE but NECA has left us no choice.” Members of Local 46 were staging a rally on Monday April 15th in support of the LE members in Bellevue, WA. Strike training will continue the following week.

One NECA contractor, Net Com, has already separated from the organization and as such has been removed from the strike list. LE workers that are not employed by Net Com, Project Labor Agreement (PLA) or a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) are, as of this writing, on strike.

“These well-trained and specialized electricians deserve a contract that reflects the value of their expertise and the importance of their work. Their wages, working conditions and quality of life should reflect their dedication to the craft and to keeping the public safe. But so far, employers are treating them like they are disposable and easily replaced. It’s frustrating because we’ve been in negotiations since January — and now time is running out.” Sean Bagsby, Business Manager for IBEW 46

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On April 2, the Georgia state Senate sent a bill to the desk of Governor Brian Kemp that will punish businesses for voluntarily recognizing unions. Under federal law, American workers have the right to hold union elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. The results of these elections are legally binding and force companies to recognize unions.

However, the process of securing and holding these elections is lengthy, and business owners often opt to voluntarily recognize unions when there is overwhelming support for one. If signed into law, Georgia SB 362 would specifically bar these businesses from tax credits for jobs associated with large-scale projects (Code Section 48-7-40.24), state community development program funds from the Department of Community Affairs (Code Section 50-8-8), and incentives through the OneGeorgia Authority (Code Section 50-34-1 through 50-34-19). The bill was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on April 23. Kemp openly opposes the growth of unions in Georgia. A joint statement issued by him and other southern governors declares this opposition in the name of “protecting businesses”.

At the same time, laws like SB 362 attack businesses that voluntarily choose to recognize unions. These contradictory actions reveal that the State of Georgia is not primarily concerned with providing workers with jobs through the nurturing of businesses but is interested in keeping Georgia workers in a weak position. 

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79 years ago, the day that marked the end of the fascist axis, the fascist machine that butchered the peoples has been officially defeated. The red flag with the hammer and sickle had been raised in the German Reichstag already since April 1945.

On this day, we honor the memory of the fighters everywhere who gave their lives on the battlefields, in the concentration camps, and in every form of anti-fascist action.

The victory of the people over fascism, with the Soviet Army in its vanguard, was accompanied by a new air of hope and optimism for a better world, without wars and disasters, without racial or other discrimination, free of exploitation and social injustice, and without colonialism and national oppression.

It changed the global correlation of forces in favor of workers and peoples and has boosted national liberation movements and decolonization and the struggle against colonialism. But first of all, it proved that only the organized struggle of the people can really put an end to fascism and the system that gives birth to it. Peoples united can achieve victories that seem impossible.

The foundation of the World Federation of Trade Unions, had also been a child of the great antifascist victory of the peoples.

However, 79 years after that great victory, US imperialism and its NATO allies are promoting conflicts that seriously threaten world peace and promote fascism. The caravans of innocent refugees, the situation in Ukraine, the ongoing genocide in Palestine, only bring negative developments for the peoples.

Today, the importance of this Victory is more topical than ever. In a period when the capitalists and their governments, the USA and the EU are trying to falsify history and erase the colossal contribution of the peoples, of the Soviet Union, of the partisan movements in the victory over fascism, our task is even more urgent. Peoples’ enemies did not even hesitate to characterize May 9 as the “Europe Day”, in order to change the true content of this date. In this methodical effort to overwrite the history, the international class-oriented trade union movement does not remain silent. We continue struggling against fascism and the system that generates it. At the same time, we don’t let memory to be erased and the historical truth to be forgotten. We continue spreading the truth to the new generations of trade unionist, honoring the memory and the struggle of the real liberators of the people and the world.

The WFTU salutes the 9^th of May, by reaffirming its commitment to the defense of world peace, the rights of peoples, especially the working class, to the socialist perspective.

Long live May 9, 1945, the day of the victory of the peoples against Nazism and fascism!

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Research shows that LGBT+ youth are more likely to experience homelessness than heterosexual youth. LGBT+ people make up only 10% of the youth population, yet account for 40% of America’s homeless youth population.

The #1 reported cause of homelessness among these youth is being deliberately kicked out of their home by family members due to them being LGBT+. To make matters worse, LGBT+ experience discrimination in employment as well. This increases the likelihood that those of us cut-off from support will be unable to pay rent and will become unhoused.

Those of us who are forced into homelessness suffer worse health outcomes than those of us who remain housed. The constant stress, exposure to the elements, and unstable financial situation wear down the body and mind. If you are unlucky enough to be both transgender and homeless, you will likely experience additional discrimination at shelters. This is because shelters often decide to turn transgender people away, rather than allowing them to stay with the correct gender.

Furthermore, the corrective system often opts to avoid the issue by keeping transgender people in isolation. Thus, members of our community risk what is considered a form of torture by the United Nations if they express who they truly are.

The People’s LGBT+ United Society recognizes that although most of us will never experience homelessness, the mere threat of it forces a much greater percentage of us into silence. Until there is better state support for LGBT+ youth experiencing homelessness, and until more work is done to combat anti-LGBT+ chauvinism, much of our community will spend a large portion of their lives in silence out of fear.

We stand in solidarity with those of us facing housing discrimination and call on our community to mobilize to the same ends.

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UJPFO supports Jewish Voices For Peace calling for a ceasefire and ending the genocide in Gaza.

From Jewish Voices for Peace:

This Passover is like no other Passover in our lives.

After six months of the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza, funded and armed by the U.S., we call on Jewish people of conscience to take to the streets. 

On Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., led the vote to send over $14 billion more to the Israeli military. Meanwhile, thousands of us gathered on his doorstep in prayer and song for a “Seder in the streets.” More than 250 individuals were arrested by the NYPD.

Earlier this week, Palestinians uncovered a second mass grave in Gaza, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. More than 300 bodies were buried there, many with their hands and feet tied, killed and discarded by the Israeli military.  – Jewish Voices for Peace

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The over 1,400 members of the Alphabet Worker’s Union (AWU) have witnessed racial and gender bias reflected in pay, sexual harassment, mass layoffs, and retaliation from Alphabet and its subsidiaries amid a growing contradiction between the demands of Alphabet’s full-time employees, temporary workers, contractors, and vendors for a better work environment as well as better pay amidst America’s economic woes.

In late January of this year, Alphabet laid off an unprecedented 12,000 employees, leaving the remaining workers demoralized and unmotivated. In a meeting with investors, Google CEO Sundar Pichai briefly thanked “the Googlers leaving us,” before checking off other important topics to discuss in the meeting, such as competing with ByteDance’s American subsidiary, TikTok.

Despite not being strong enough to negotiate with Google directly, the AWU has legal ammunition to use against the tech industry giant. On January 3^rd of this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Google’s decision to avoid bargaining with contract workers represented by AWU violated federal labor laws.

Workers of the staffing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions were subject to many changes in working conditions without representation throughout their contract work with Google, including but not limited to requiring hybrid and remote workers to return to the office as well as a revocation of the workers’ sick pay during their work for YouTube Music. The Cognizant contractors unanimously voted 41-0 to join the AWU, a vote which Google appealed citing that it “did not have enough control over the workers to be considered a so-called ‘joint employer’ that must bargain with their union.”

The NLRB applied a rule on joint employment adopted during former President Donald Trump’s administration stating that businesses have to exercise direct control over workers to be required to bargain with unions. The NLRB stated that not only does Google directly supervise workers provided by Cognizant, but it also has direct control over their hours and benefits. However, the precedent for deciding when businesses are joint employers of contract or franchise workers has been in question since the Obama administration. An NLRB rule taking effect in February says companies are joint employers even when their control over working conditions is indirect. This decision is currently being challenged by several major business groups.

In November of last year, a group of about 120 employees of Google contractor Accenture, who work on AI, voted to unionize. According to an article by Meg Duff of Slate, “Google claims it is not the workers’ joint employer and is challenging the results of that election.” According to Katie-Marie Marschner, a YouTube Music worker and AWU member, “any future appeals by Alphabet are just an attempt to avoid collectively bargaining with the union and pad the pockets of shareholders and executives.”

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We thank LUEL for the fantastic work that they’ve been doing, and we plan to work closer with LUEL as our work goes on, especially where the labor movement and LGBT+ movement intersect.

Website: peopleslgbt.org

Phone: (206) 414-8924

Address: 720 Seneca St. Ste 106, Seattle, WA 98101

Email: info@peopleslgbt.org

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