Riot Employees Plan Walkout Protest Against Arbitration News

A few days ago, Riot Games filed to keep employees from having any rights to sue. Instead, forcing these legal actions into private arbitration. Today, It has been revealed that an undisclosed number of Riot Games employees have planned and are collecting support for a walk-out protest to be held on Monday, May the 6th. 

A walk-out in protest is a very clean and nonviolent form of protest that demands the attention of employers. This is especially so in large-scale and hard-working studios like Riot Games, where the departure of a handful of employees for a certain amount of time can completely halt some of the work they are doing. 

Technically, a walk-out is against the terms in which these employees signed when they were hired, but the results of a nonviolent protest are rarely that of firings. The protest grows in strength and safety with the inclusion of more employees. The larger the pile, the less likely anyone actually gets fired over it. Riot could (technically) afford to fire a handful of employees for walking out. But if three dozen, or over a hundred or more employees all walk-out then the company is handcuffed. 

The unknown amount of employees at Riot Games’ Los Angeles office is apparently leading to some employees not feeling safe enough to partake. According to another report from Kotaku’s Cecilia D’Anastasio, some employees have expressed that they are not going to partake in the walkout because no one seems certain how many people will be participating.

 

Also according to that Kotaku report, the articles circulating regarding Riot Games’ plans to hold employees to private arbitration were the catalyst in the decision to perform the walkout protest. That and the history of success with the action -- Google agreed to end forced arbitration after employee walkout earlier this year -- has put the plan into motion. 

“We’re proud of our colleagues for standing up for what they believe in. We always want Rioters to have the opportunity to be heard, so we’re sitting down today to listen to their opinions and learn more about their perspectives on arbitration. We will also be discussing this topic during our biweekly all-company town hall on Thursday. Both are important forums for us to discuss our current policy and listen to feedback, which are important parts of evaluating all of our procedures and policies, including those related to arbitration.” Riot Games told Kotaku in an email regarding the walkout. 

Considering that there has been very little movement in regards to the employees at the heart of the sexual harassment and culture issues within the studio, the employee trust in Riot Games has got to be pretty low right now. Some big moves by the League of Legends developer are due.  

We will see if there is anything officially released from any party after the apparent meetings to take place internally this week and if the walkout goes ahead on Monday.