IGDA, Rockstar Reply to Allegations of Over Work

I think any White Collar profession has felt the hurt when it comes to this recession. With Federal Health Care Reform and the Government take over, most Insurance Company’s are preparing to pass the cost onto us. United Healthcare just came to my place of employment to note the changes and increase in prices. Not to mention the Democratic Congress’s plan to Tax Healthcare benefits…..

These workers are going to wake up one day and find Security walking them out of the building and informing them their possessions will be mailed back to them like Dell did their employees. Work Life Balance sucks but we as a society expect so much and we forget we are privileged to have a good job and have our employers pay the majority of our benefits.

Most people forget the little bit that comes out of your check is nothing compared to what your employer is paying into the plan on your end.

These people are not going to risk walking out and striking especially in the Democratic Controlled State of California were they have unionized and taxed business out to the point where they openly discussed being dropped as a state and going back to a terroritial status.

I live in and around Chicago Illinois. If you leave the North Side of Chicago and visit all you see is old buildings in disrepair and old factories of where Industry was before the Unions forced the jobs out of the United States. If you ever went to Detroit you literally are walking in a current ruin of a once great city that is now nothing but one giant ruin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhJ_49leBw

Again, worst move they could have possibly made at this time in our country’s history. Do they seriously live in a bubble to where they think getting a job is that easy? Unemployment is over 10% we are reaching the levels of unemployment we haven’t seen since the great depression. Unemployement doesn’t pay that much, how do you expect to live off unemployment in a state that taxes everything to death and have no job?

I along with a thousand other people working at a large office building for Allstate were just recently laid off some months back. Some people have found no alternatives to find work, some people are forced to take positions paying close to minamiem wage because the jobs aren’t there. As someone put it where I work at now, she was offered $12.00 last year and that was an insult to her since jobs have always been here with all these benefits, now they are hardly any.

"We do not agree with the allegations in the Gamasutra post (e.g. there has been no reduction in health benefits or ancillary benefits and perks (such as free dinners and massages etc), wage increases across the studio have kept track with cost of living increases"

This paragraph made me chuckle. Rockstar is trying to make it seem like they are sittiing on gold plated chairs while they work, and are served 200 dollar steaks every day for dinner. Trying to villianize the employees who are being worked to the bone is pretty low, Rockstar, pretty low indeed.

Also, I love this:

", and anyone who feels they have been overlooked for a bonus for a game they worked on please contact HR to discuss as soon as possible)."

It's nothing but a lure to find the people who are complaining about this and fire them. HR doesn't work for the employees, they work for the company. Thier sole job is to convince the employee that it's not THAT bad to be shit on by the company.