Union Kickstarter employees started a strike on Thursday morning, after negotiations on a new contract broke down, the union said in a statement. The previous three-year agreement expired in July; negotiations on a new contract began in April.
Kickstarter workers are represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153, which won an election in early 2020 (see “Kickstarter Employees Vote for Union“). The unit consists of 59 community support specialists, trust and safety analysts, marketing professionals, software engineers, and other tech workers.
The key issues, according to the union, are the extension of the company’s 32-hour, 4-day work week, which has been in place for three years, and a minimum living wage for New York City, which the company says is roughly $85,000/year. The company wants the right to return to a five-day work week in the future, and has not accepted the minimum wage proposal.
The union voted to strike on September 26; Kickstarter is continuing to operate without the striking workers for now. The union is not urging a boycott, instead asking for letters of support to management and contributions to a support fund.
Funds raised for comic projects on Kickstarter were up in 2024 (see “Comics and Graphic Novel Sales Up in 2024“), and for game projects roughly flat (see “2024 Was a Year of Stabilization“) in a tough competitive environment for Kickstarter.
Source: ICv2
