Kickstarter’s employee union, Kickstarter United, announced last week that it had reached a settlement after a 42-day strike and obtained “historic protections” for its employees. These include “strong codified protections” for the four-day work week, “improving pay equity by establishing salary floors that provide bonuses to the most undervalued workers,” and safeguards against generative AI.
The company’s website details its Kickstarter by saying, “AI cannot replace roles, and when AI changes roles, management must work with employees,” and the new agreement includes “strong protections against replacing full-time employees with contractors,” and also promises “more input from employees in regular forums for business operations.”
For more information, please visit the official Kickstarter United page. The union had been negotiating a new contract with the platform since April, before its previous contract expired in July, and resolved to go on strike on October 2. You can check out coverage of the October 7th protest outside the Manhattan offices of venture capitalist Fred Wilson (a major investor in the company) here.
However, the union told users that they could continue crowdfunding projects, including comics, on the site while they were away. This has affected some works, such as the A1 Deadline feature. Following legal threats from Fraser Brown, the book’s author chose to replace some of the comics he had planned for the book rather than risk automatic suspension from the site.
In any case, congratulations to Kickstarter United on reaching a new deal that includes getting 4 days a week.
Something like this:
Like loading…
