Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
@jdespland.bsky.social
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
I wonder if Rockstar leadership envisaged this kind of response when they decided to fire 30+ workers in a union?
Video game giant Rockstar has sacked more than 30 workers across the UK, including my constituents working at their Edinburgh office. I urged Ministers to support workers who have lost their jobs, and stop this from happening again.
November 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I wonder if Rockstar leadership envisaged this kind of response when they decided to fire 30+ workers in a union?
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
WE WON! After 42 days of striking we have a tentative agreement in hand that protects our existing 4 day work week, establishes a minimum salary, and adds protections against AI replacing jobs at our workplace!
![Graphic with multiple picket signs that reads "[up arrow] Minimum Salary", "4 day Work Week", and a big cancel sign over "AI Replacing Jobs" and so much more. Go to kickstarterunited.org to see it all!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gdife25rfr5drwr2nhncr3rf/bafkreidfgv3xytmgta3x35mjze22ojok7lwh3vlhgrcfbcwr7hjg6bb6eu@jpeg)
November 12, 2025 at 10:54 PM
WE WON! After 42 days of striking we have a tentative agreement in hand that protects our existing 4 day work week, establishes a minimum salary, and adds protections against AI replacing jobs at our workplace!
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
China dragging us kicking and screaming into a survivable future
This chart shows that progress has actually been made on climate change www.axios.com/2025/11/13/c...
This chart shows that progress has actually been made on climate change
The possible trajectories are better than a decade ago, but still indicate significant global warming.
www.axios.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:20 PM
China dragging us kicking and screaming into a survivable future
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
The notion abusers need to resort to conspiracies and subterfuge is more comforting than the truth that many people will readily look the other way when confronted with sexual violence if doing otherwise would even slightly inconvenience them
Pizzagate: If you replace the word “hot dog” with “little boy” and “pizza party” with “child sex orgy,” you will see the lengths these elites go to cover up their crimes.
Real elite emails: Send me nude pictures of those 8th graders we abused last weekend post-haste! I am the Ambassador to Turkey.
Real elite emails: Send me nude pictures of those 8th graders we abused last weekend post-haste! I am the Ambassador to Turkey.
November 12, 2025 at 11:42 PM
The notion abusers need to resort to conspiracies and subterfuge is more comforting than the truth that many people will readily look the other way when confronted with sexual violence if doing otherwise would even slightly inconvenience them
nothing really new about the epstein stuff, but the part that has been surprising to me is really all the people who are not anywhere near any kind of proximity to that level of power, who nonetheless seem to have been very invested in promoting a maintaining of general denial about the truth
November 13, 2025 at 2:17 AM
nothing really new about the epstein stuff, but the part that has been surprising to me is really all the people who are not anywhere near any kind of proximity to that level of power, who nonetheless seem to have been very invested in promoting a maintaining of general denial about the truth
Re-reading GWU Montréal's guide to identifying union-busting tactics, as next week I'm teaching a class on labour in the games industry:
medium.com/@gwumlit/ide...
Been thinking about this slide in particular recently:
medium.com/@gwumlit/ide...
Been thinking about this slide in particular recently:
November 12, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Re-reading GWU Montréal's guide to identifying union-busting tactics, as next week I'm teaching a class on labour in the games industry:
medium.com/@gwumlit/ide...
Been thinking about this slide in particular recently:
medium.com/@gwumlit/ide...
Been thinking about this slide in particular recently:
my most oldguy videogame take is that hardware sprite acceleration ruined game design
November 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
my most oldguy videogame take is that hardware sprite acceleration ruined game design
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Rockstar devs protest signs are great
November 11, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Rockstar devs protest signs are great
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
NEW: the IWGB has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar after it says the company refused to meet to discuss bringing back fired developers.
"Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants."
"Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants."
November 12, 2025 at 3:23 PM
NEW: the IWGB has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar after it says the company refused to meet to discuss bringing back fired developers.
"Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants."
"Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants."
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
a very very long time ago i was listening to a video game podcast that has long since stopped existing where a frustrated listener wrote in asking what “Guitar Hero Ennui” was because he misheard them talking about “Guitar Hero on Wii”
November 11, 2025 at 8:36 PM
a very very long time ago i was listening to a video game podcast that has long since stopped existing where a frustrated listener wrote in asking what “Guitar Hero Ennui” was because he misheard them talking about “Guitar Hero on Wii”
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
I went to meet the 'Rockstar 31', the developers who were suddenly fired from their work on GTA 6 for what the studio has described as gross misconduct.
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6
YouTube video by People Make Games
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I went to meet the 'Rockstar 31', the developers who were suddenly fired from their work on GTA 6 for what the studio has described as gross misconduct.
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
geoff,
November 7, 2025 at 7:23 PM
geoff,
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
“Rockstar continue to deflect from the real reason for these dismissals: they are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice.”
Fired Rockstar Games staff have protested outside the UK offices of parent company Take-Two and developer Rockstar North today, denying accusations of leaking company secrets and calling for their reinstatement.
'Grand Theft Employment!' — Protests Outside Take-Two and Rockstar North Offices as Fired Staff Deny Leaking Company Secrets
bit.ly
November 7, 2025 at 6:09 AM
“Rockstar continue to deflect from the real reason for these dismissals: they are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice.”
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
This story is infinitely more important than GTA getting delayed. Don't let me catch you moaning about waiting longer for a video game if you're not mad about why it happened.
"Rockstar, Rockstar, you're disgusting, we charge you with union busting," the protesters declared.
'All you had to do was follow the damn law, Rockstar!': Workers are protesting outside Take-Two after GTA 6 dev's alleged 'brazen' union-busting
"They can get used to seeing us on their doorstep."
www.pcgamer.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:06 AM
This story is infinitely more important than GTA getting delayed. Don't let me catch you moaning about waiting longer for a video game if you're not mad about why it happened.
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Truly, one of the reasons things have crashed and burned so hard in the last twenty years is that the most evil people on the planet learned the majority of people only needed the thinnest veil of an excuse to deny what's obviously happening.
For folks who think Rockstar firing 30+ workers in the union isn't union busting - what do you think union busting would look like?
Do you think they'd come right out and be like "Yep, we're union busting"? Is that what you'd need to hear before you believed that's what they were doing?
Do you think they'd come right out and be like "Yep, we're union busting"? Is that what you'd need to hear before you believed that's what they were doing?
November 6, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Truly, one of the reasons things have crashed and burned so hard in the last twenty years is that the most evil people on the planet learned the majority of people only needed the thinnest veil of an excuse to deny what's obviously happening.
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Oh they're afraid afraid.
Rockstar claims dismissals were due to information leaks, not union busting
UPDATE: Developer says it "took action against a small number of individuals" for "distributing and discussing confidential information"
www.gamesindustry.biz/iwgb-accuses...
UPDATE: Developer says it "took action against a small number of individuals" for "distributing and discussing confidential information"
www.gamesindustry.biz/iwgb-accuses...
Rockstar claims dismissals were due to information leaks, not union busting
UPDATE: Developer says it "took action against a small number of individuals" for "distributing and discussing confidential information"
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 6, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Oh they're afraid afraid.
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
"the revolt of the bosses" is a good way of framing the elite reaction to woke 1. what's particularly interesting is that this isn't a reaction to an attack on profits--it's a reaction to changes in workplace culture--
which is to say, the psychic wage of hierarchy
which is to say, the psychic wage of hierarchy
I suspect that the revolt of the bosses element of all this really is explained by: a bunch of upper echelon Americans really didn't like the cultural and workplace changes induced by Woke era, some portion of them were pushed into internet insanity, but most just wanted a shift slightly right....
November 5, 2025 at 4:17 PM
"the revolt of the bosses" is a good way of framing the elite reaction to woke 1. what's particularly interesting is that this isn't a reaction to an attack on profits--it's a reaction to changes in workplace culture--
which is to say, the psychic wage of hierarchy
which is to say, the psychic wage of hierarchy
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Overly-broad NDAs are widespread in the industry, and if companies are able to stick in court that they can interpret talking about your woking conditions as "leaking confidential information" that's an avenue they'll pursue to disrupt organizing.
NEW: Rockstar Games says the 30+ employees it fired last week were leaking confidential information, disputing allegations that the company is union-busting.
The union says it was a private chat with labor organizers. This messy battle isn't over yet. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The union says it was a private chat with labor organizers. This messy battle isn't over yet. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
‘Grand Theft Auto’ Studio Says Fired Employees Were Leaking Information
Rockstar Games terminated more than 30 people last week in an action that a labor group called “union-busting.”
www.bloomberg.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Overly-broad NDAs are widespread in the industry, and if companies are able to stick in court that they can interpret talking about your woking conditions as "leaking confidential information" that's an avenue they'll pursue to disrupt organizing.
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Textbook case of an org committing to diversity in the environment of 2020 and then not being willing to actually listen to those diverse people when they dared to speak up.
Honestly it feels really bad that when we asked them to put their money where their mouth was, TGAs instead killed the entire Future Class program.
November 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Textbook case of an org committing to diversity in the environment of 2020 and then not being willing to actually listen to those diverse people when they dared to speak up.
we shall make no excuses for the terror
November 5, 2025 at 6:27 PM
we shall make no excuses for the terror
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Who has the best Zohran crashout screenshots?
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Who has the best Zohran crashout screenshots?
Funny how a management narrative about "misconduct" always magically appears right after organizing happens. Almost like it's an orchestrated strategy and not an organic workplace issue.
A gaslighting attempt to reframe workers' exercising of their rights as what is "creating a toxic environment".
A gaslighting attempt to reframe workers' exercising of their rights as what is "creating a toxic environment".
Last week, Rockstar was accused of firing over 30 people for engaging in union activity.
In a statement to Bloomberg (and subsequently Game Developer), Rockstar owner Take-Two said those workers were fired for "gross misconduct."
Today, an IWGB rep told me there is no evidence that was the case.
In a statement to Bloomberg (and subsequently Game Developer), Rockstar owner Take-Two said those workers were fired for "gross misconduct."
Today, an IWGB rep told me there is no evidence that was the case.
Rockstar accused of firing over 30 union members in 'calculated attack on workers'
November 5, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Funny how a management narrative about "misconduct" always magically appears right after organizing happens. Almost like it's an orchestrated strategy and not an organic workplace issue.
A gaslighting attempt to reframe workers' exercising of their rights as what is "creating a toxic environment".
A gaslighting attempt to reframe workers' exercising of their rights as what is "creating a toxic environment".
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
Reposted by Joachim ✊️ UVW-CWA
i cant wait for the crash outs dude
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 AM
i cant wait for the crash outs dude
hope new yorkers are ready to keep mamdami accountable to his 2020 position
November 5, 2025 at 3:14 AM
hope new yorkers are ready to keep mamdami accountable to his 2020 position