Star Citizen studio accused by staff for making them work during Texas winter storm.

[Rocky Arbigaus]

Summary

 Cloud Imperial Not only did not suspended operations during the winter storm, but also were told to use paid time off for missed days work.
  
Edit: Well, since you guys are apparently unaware for some reason, Texas in undergoing thorough a crises caused by a snowstorm. 

 

PC Gamer

Quote

Speaking to Kotaku, several anonymous CIG employees criticized upper management at Cloud Imperium Games for showing a lack of support and understanding during the crisis and for not suspending operations during a state-wide emergency that left dozens of Texas residents dead. Kotaku's sources also say CIG management failed to communicate the severity of the winter storms to the rest of the company (which has offices in the UK and Germany) and that employees were instructed to use paid time off (PTO, or vacation time) for missed days of work in the aftermath of the storm.

 

BBC

 

Quote

 

US President Joe Biden has approved a state of emergency in Texas, which has seen some of its coldest temperatures in more than 30 years - some areas hit 0F (-18C) on Sunday.

The high demand for electricity in the state has caused the power grid to fail. Rolling blackouts have been imposed in some areas to conserve power for hospitals, police and fire stations, leaving over 4.3 million people without electricity.

The crisis was worsened when nearly half the state's wind power generation was knocked out by the storm on Sunday. Wind power is the state's second-largest source of electricity.

Icy roads have also led to a spate of traffic accidents and people have been advised to avoid travel where possible.

 

 

 

 

Sources

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/star-citizen-management-criticized-by-employees-for-poor-handling-of-texas-winter-storm/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56076686

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Rocky Arbigaus

[AlexAfterwork]

sounds totally fine and normal to me as a german  .....sadly....  i know it is depressing and sad, that they forced them to work, even with this danger, don´t get me wrong.

[Master Disaster]

6 minutes ago, AlexAfterwork said:

sounds totally fine and normal to me as a german  .....sadly....  i know it is depressing and sad, that they forced them to work, even with this danger, don´t get me wrong.

As a German, severe Winter weather is normal for you. The reason its not a big deal is because you're equipped to deal with it, your house is insulated, you have central heating, you keep warm winter clothes, your council have ploughs and gritters.

 

Remember that, in Texas, going below 10c in the Winter would be considered abnormal. Their houses are made from wood, they have no insulation, no heating (in fact Air Con is mandatory in Texas), they wear shorts in December etc etc.

 

The two situations are VERY different.

[AlwaysFSX]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

 they have no insulation, no heating (in fact Air Con is mandatory in Texas)

what lol

 

Heaters exist in Texas, it does get cold enough there. Also, no insulation? What do you think you want when it's 100-115°F (38-46°C) outside?

[Distinctly Average]

Sounds normal to me too. We tend to do whatever we can to do our job and if we have to go out in the snow then no worries, My company are understanding though and if people are struggling, or it would be unsafe, then they would still get paid. You need some give and take if you want happy workers.

[AlexAfterwork]

I know that the living situations are completly different.

But i wasn´t talking about homes, just like the streets for example.

We also had power drop outs, no transportation possible, cars fully covered in snow ( no chance to move them), no trash pick up, no food deliverys to super markets some days.

 

But still, it is our duty to be at work somehow, if not, take your vacation days.

 

I´m sorry if i pissed somebody off, that was not my intention.

[Distinctly Average]

6 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

what lol

 

Heaters exist in Texas, it does get cold enough there. Also, no insulation? What do you think you want when it's 100-115°F outside?

Agreed. Most air con they have works on reverse cycle to provide heating. However, many were without electricity. Interesting to hear why. First was the mounds of coal were so frozen that the automated units that put it un the furnaces could not operate. Second, they us masses of fracked gas, which has a content of water. Their gas pipes are above ground and uninsulated so the gas froze in the pipes and in quite a few cases, split the pipes. 98% of their reduction in power was from failures in fossil fuel industry. 2% was failed windmills. Texas is odd in that is is not part of the US power grid and instead are a power island which really added to their problems.

 

Bit off topic above there, but for those with no power then getting to work where it sounds like they did have power may have been a good thing.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, AlexAfterwork said:

I know that the living situations are completly different.

But i wasn´t talking about homes, just like the streets for example.

We also had power drop outs, no transportation possible, cars fully covered in snow ( no chance to move them), no trash pick up, no food deliverys to super markets some days.

 

But still, it is our duty to be at work somehow, if not, take your vacation days.

 

I´m sorry if i pissed somebody off, that was not my intention.

Nah, don't be silly. You're entitled to your opinion as much as I am mine.

 

Remember though, it was a declared emergency situation and its pretty hard to work from home when the power is off for days.

[AlwaysFSX]

1 minute ago, Distinctly Average said:

Agreed. Most air con they have works on reverse cycle to provide heating. However, many were without electricity. Interesting to hear why. First was the mounds of coal were so frozen that the automated units that put it un the furnaces could not operate. Second, they us masses of fracked gas, which has a content of water. Their gas pipes are above ground and uninsulated so the gas froze in the pipes and in quite a few cases, split the pipes. 98% of their reduction in power was from failures in fossil fuel industry. 2% was failed windmills. 

 

Bit off topic above there, but for those with no power then getting to work where it sounds like they did have power may have been a good thing.

Imagine what winterizing your power grid can do for you.

On topic: No surprise that CIG pulled something like this, leadership is clueless.

[Analog]

6 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Remember though, it was a declared emergency situation and its pretty hard to work from home when the power is off for days.

We are way past that here in Europe. No electricity, no problem, just generate your own. Like mice on the treadmill. 

 

You work when there is no power and you workout at the same time too. lol

 

 

Picture is from Amsterdam Airport. 

[Middcore]

Couldn't afford to miss a single day of development time or the game might not come out on schedule, right?

[Sauron]

56 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Heaters exist in Texas, it does get cold enough there. Also, no insulation? What do you think you want when it's 100-115°F (38-46°C) outside?

Heaters didn't work because of massive power and gas outages. In some areas even getting food was a problem for some time. Might not be the case for cloud imperial offices in particular but it's very possible their staff had pressing concerns at home that required their undivided attention.

[AlwaysFSX]

3 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Heaters didn't work because of massive power and gas outages. In some areas even getting food was a problem for some time. Might not be the case for cloud imperial offices in particular but it's very possible their staff had pressing concerns at home that required their undivided attention.

Didn't work =/= does not exist

[Tristerin]

Also me: Its a Corporation, if you dont like its policies find another job.  I know its callous, but its a hard truth.

 

I dont like the Weather Policy at my 9-5.  So what do I do?  Use my vacation when it snows..  Or work from home which has been an option since COVID, so thats nice.  Why?  I dont mind driving in the snow at all.  I mind the dumbasses that I have to share the road with, so I dont do it instead.

[Sauron]

8 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Didn't work =/= does not exist

But they said "they have no heating", not "heating does not exist in Texas"  

 

And also it's true that insulation is poor in much of the state, leading to AC overuse.

[AlwaysFSX]

15 minutes ago, Sauron said:

But they said "they have no heating", not "heating does not exist in Texas"  

 

And also it's true that insulation is poor in much of the state, leading to AC overuse.

If you say a place doesn't have:
1) Insulation
2) Heating

 

You're implying that they do not have:
1) Insulation
2) Heating

 

It's misrepresentation of the place.

[RoseLuck462]

We've faced this situation before as well. Had a major ice storm and roads were closed and management closed operations for the day meaning we got to stay home but it wasn't for 'free', we had to either use PTO or unpaid hours.

 

Such BS.

[Sauron]

15 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

If you say a place doesn't have:
1) Insulation
2) Heating

 

You're implying that they do not have:
1) Insulation
2) Heating

 

It's misrepresentation of the place.

And they did not have it, that is correct.  You can own a car but if you don't have fuel for it you can say you don't have transport.

[AlwaysFSX]

3 minutes ago, Sauron said:

And they did not have it, that is correct.  You can own a car but if you don't have fuel for it you can say you don't have transport.

Amazing disconnect.

[Middcore]

I once worked a retail job where in the break room they had a placard listing the local weather emergency policies.

 

At a level 3 winter weather emergency (or whatever the highest level was), it stated that by law only plows, ambulances, and police vehicles were supposed to be on the roads. It then stated that in such a situation, we should call the store to find out if we were still supposed to come in for our shift.

 

Yes, they were holding open the possibility of asking us to literally break the law and risk our lives to come and make minimum wage selling sweatshirts. 

[Master Delta Chief]

43 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Also me: Its a Corporation, if you dont like its policies find another job.  I know its callous, but its a hard truth.

 

I dont like the Weather Policy at my 9-5.  So what do I do?  Use my vacation when it snows..  Or work from home which has been an option since COVID, so thats nice.  Why?  I dont mind driving in the snow at all.  I mind the dumbasses that I have to share the road with, so I dont do it instead.

That's a pretty disconnected comment of yours considering that so many people in Texas had other problems to worry about rather than their work. If Texas was better prepared against such weather or particular conditions, such things wouldn't have happened in the first place. It is very justifiable that you didn't need to go to work in this case (unless you work for emergency services or perhaps for a supermarket in order to keep supplies going).  

[Tristerin]

9 minutes ago, Master Delta Chief said:

That's a pretty disconnected comment of yours considering that so many people in Texas had other problems to worry about rather than their work. If Texas was better prepared against such weather or particular conditions, such things wouldn't have happened in the first place. It is very justifiable that you didn't need to go to work in this case (unless you work for emergency services or perhaps for a supermarket in order to keep supplies going).  

I disagree.  I can only speak (type) for me.  Lets assume I had to go through what they did in Texas, and specifically with this Company.  I literally understand the policy and would just toss in some vacation.  I intentionally dont schedule 1 week of vacation a year for Emergencies.  So the disconnect is not me - its the difference between how individuals are prepared.

 

You confuse your needs, with a contract you have in place with your employer.  Harsh truths.  They are uncomfortable to digest because (and I agree with you) we wish people (Corporations) would have some humanity.  

 

Its easy to say I am disconnected to the needs of others, its far harder for you to look at your own life, and the lives of others and ask - is the onus on me/them?  Because its not on the Company to have good will - thats up to the Owner of the Company and peoples feelings are fickle especially where Money is involved.

 

BTW you added caveats at the end of your statement that I find odd - why is it fair to mandatory one group of employed people to have to go to work, but not another?  We cant have Fair AND Equal, just one or the other.

 

 

[Master Delta Chief]

2 hours ago, AlwaysFSX said:

what lol

 

Heaters exist in Texas, it does get cold enough there. Also, no insulation? What do you think you want when it's 100-115°F (38-46°C) outside?

If you're implying that insulation doesn't work for that sort of temperatures, you're pretty much wrong. If done properly (walls and rooftops), it can provide for a more cooler environment inside during the summer. 

[AlwaysFSX]

2 minutes ago, Master Delta Chief said:

If you're implying that insulation doesn't work for that sort of temperatures, you're pretty much wrong. If done properly (walls and rooftops), it can provide for a more cooler environment inside during the summer. 

You might want to re-read what I said and what I was replying to.

[Velcade]

2 hours ago, Rocky Arbigaus said:

Summary

 Cloud Imperial Not only did not suspended operations during the winter storm, but also were told to use paid time off for missed days work.

This makes sense.  If you don't feel comfortable going to work you should have to use your PTO days.