Well, it certainly seemed to happen.
A group of employees for Riot games staged a walkout yesterday. The walkout was in protest of both Riot’s apparent disregard for sexual harassment cases; specifically, that any employee that brings forward such claims is bound by contract into forced arbitration rather than having the right to sue. Many of the cases that led to the walkout were reported last year.
About 150 employees from Riot’s LA office were involved with the walkout. The walkout took place between 2:00-4:00pm, PST, and featured an itinerary, with specific speakers and open mic time.
To be absolutely fair, their grievances are incredibly valid. Forced arbitration is an extremely employee-unfriendly practice, and Riot should know this. That said, it’s rather hard to believe that this demonstration really put the screws to management to change much. Speaking to Kotaku, a Riot Games representative stated that the company supported the move from their employees; going further to say:
We have asked all managers to make every accommodation to allow Rioters to participate during the 2-4pm window, including freeing up meeting times. We respect Rioters who choose to walkout today and will not tolerate retaliation of any kind as a result of participating (or not).
When asked as to whether Riot will actually change their policies based on the event’s turnout, they responded:
While we will not make a change to our policies while in active litigation, last Thursday we announced that we’ve made the call to pivot our approach. As soon as active litigation is resolved, we will give all new Rioters the choice to opt-out of mandatory arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. At that time, we will also commit to have a firm answer on potentially expanding the scope and extending this opt-out to all Rioters. We are working diligently to resolve all active litigation so that we can quickly take steps toward a solution. As we have been for the past week, we will continue to listen to Rioters regarding their thoughts on arbitration and we’re thankful for everyone that has taken the time to meet with leadership about this issue.
Riot employs 2,500 workers; while that makes the walkout seem small, many of those employees are spread across the world in market-related offices. On the flipside, it certainly doesn’t seem like management has really done, well, anything to fix the situation. Considering that they willingly allotted time for the walkout, it sort of undercuts the point of a walkout.
The employees at the center of the walkout have plans for further demonstrations, should the requisite changes not come about. As to whether the demonstration was effective, though, is anyone’s guess at this point.
Source: PC Gamer
Image Source: Upcomer (alt)
About Author
