On the morning of Thursday, October 2, 2025, Kickstarter United announced via its GoFundMe page that a majority of its members voted to authorize a strike on September 26 after the crowdfunding platform and unionized employees were unable to reach a new contract agreement. The strike is the latest escalation in a months-long contract battle between Kickstarter and its unionized employees. New contract negotiations began in April 2025, with the previous three-year agreement between the crowdfunding platform and the union expiring in July.
After choosing to assemble a union in 2020, Kickstarter United is now comprised of “59 community support specialists, trust analysts, marketing professionals, software engineers, and other technology workers,” according to ICV2, and is represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153. There is a salary floor of $85,000 for three years. This is the minimum living wage in New York City, New York, and “raises the wages of more than 20% of the bargaining force.”
But Kickstarter refused to accept Local 153’s terms, and the union held a rally in Manhattan on Tuesday, October 7, outside venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s office. A union spokesperson told Rascal that Kickstarter management refused to agree to four-day working hours, said they wanted to maintain the option to return to five-day working hours, and rejected all proposals for a minimum salary.
“They want unilateral power to revert working hours back to five days of work, without compensation for additional working hours, if business necessity arises (of course ‘business need’ is at the discretion of management),” a local 153 spokesperson told Rascal. “That’s not how it works with unions. Working hours are a mandatory subject of negotiation. And what we’re seeing is management opting out of this and trying to maintain unilateral power to increase working hours without compensation.”
The spokesperson continued: “The labor movement is strongest when it is paving the way for working class people to lead full and healthy lives outside of work.”
The formation of Kickstarter United in 2020 was a milestone for the tech labor movement, as it was the first prominent tech company to organize. As The Beat previously reported, the unionization effort drew the ire of Alt-Right News site Breitbart, which began punching Nazis by Ben Ferrari following an internal dispute over Kickstarter’s decision to remove a satirical comic from its platform. Employee pressure ultimately led to a resurgence of the comic, which led to Kickstarter organizing a growing movement among workers in 2019, despite claims of union-busting within the company.
For now, Kickstarter continues to operate without any notable workers, issuing the following statement:
“Kickstarter is built on community — both the people who work here and the creators and backers on our platform,” a Kickstarter spokesperson said. “We are committed to keeping our community strong and supportive inside and out. We have reached agreement with the union on most items in the contract. While we are disappointed that the union has chosen to strike, we remain committed to working out the last few items together.”
In response, the union officially voted to go on strike. However, despite the platform’s rejection of Kickstarter United’s proposal, the union is not calling for a boycott. Instead it says:
“Kickstarter United is not asking anyone to boycott the site. We will continue to launch projects that make dreams come true. Please continue to support projects that bring joy. If you are an creator, you can add a message of solidarity to your project description or let admins know how you can give workers a square deal.”
For everyone else: Please share the post on social media. Talk to your colleagues about what a better workplace looks like to you. If you can, please donate to the Solidarity Fund…”
Kickstarter United shares community pledges through the Action Network. As of the publication of this article, we have garnered the support of 5,706 letter writers who submitted letters to Kickstarter Management to fulfill the union’s demands. At the same time, the union has launched a GoFundMe to support striking Kickstarter employees.
See social media posts from today’s gathering below.
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