The Daily Populous

Tuesday October 4th, 2022 evening edition

image for Labor board says Activision withheld raises from union activists

The National Labor Relations Board has investigated and found that video game titan Activision Blizzard withheld raises from quality assurance testers at its subsidiary Raven Software, and that it attributed the withholding to the testers’ union activity.

Following the NLRB’s findings, Activision Blizzard and Raven Software quality assurance testers will continue negotiations around a collective bargaining agreement.

It added that the company withheld raises from the Raven workers and announced the withholding was due to the union activity.

Before the May election win, Activision Blizzard’s president and chief operating officer, Daniel Alegre, had tried to meet with union bargaining members in Wisconsin.

In April, quality assurance testers at Activision Blizzard outside of Raven were offered raises that bumped up their pay to $20 per hour.

Activision Blizzard is awaiting approval from international regulators of a deal to be acquired by Microsoft for nearly $69 billion.

The Xbox and Windows maker previously said in June it would respect the rights of Activision Blizzard workers to join a union. »

Australia to set aside at least 30% of its land mass to protect endangered species

Authored by reuters.com

"The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater," Plibersek said in a statement.

By prioritising 110 species and 20 places, Plibersek said the areas managed for conservation will be increased by 50 million hectares.

A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. »

The Onion Filed a Brief With the Supreme Court. It's Not a Joke

Authored by news.yahoo.com
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But that’s what the justices received Monday, with the docketing of an atypical friend-of-court brief from parody website The Onion.

The brief is laced with dramatic hyperbole, jabs at the self-seriousness of the legal profession, and outlandish, obviously false declarations of fact.

The filing mixes sarcasm, self-deprecation, and jokes with legal arguments and analysis more typical of a traditional Supreme Court brief. »

Newsom signs bill decriminalizing most jaywalking in California

Authored by cbsnews.com

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a measure from a Bay Area lawmaker that would decriminalize jaywalking in most cases.

On Friday, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), which the author has dubbed "The Freedom to Walk Act.".

It also limits when officers can stop a pedestrian for jaywalking to situations where there is an immediate danger of a collision. »