Kickstarter United NYC-OPEIU 153, Elected Officials & Labor Leaders Hold Strike Rally and Picket
Members of Kickstarter United join other Union Members for rally and picket outside Union Square Ventures
Rally Comes with Workers on Strike Demanding 32-Work Week and Minimum Salary
(New York, NY) – In a show of solidarity, nearly 50 union workers, including Kickstarter United (KSRU), rallied and picketed with Elected Officials and leaders from OPEIU Local 153, New York Times Tech Guild and NYC Central Labor Council outside of Kickstarter Board Member and Investor Fred Wilson's venture capitalist firm, Union Square Ventures. The picket comes just days after KRSU’s strike began on Thursday, October 2nd after management failed to offer a fair contract. Kickstarter workers are represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153. The key issues that remain unresolved: protecting Kickstarter’s existing four-day, 32-hour workweek and establishing a minimum salary that provides a livable wage.
Kickstarter management knows that the 4 day, 32-hour work week that we’ve had for the past 3 and a half years is the right move. Our fight is looking to enshrine a working condition of ours to shield it from the ever-revolving door of executive leadership, said Dannel Jurado, Kickstarter United member, steward, collective bargaining committee member, and member of Local 153 Executive Board. We believe that the 4 day work week is key to the longevity of not just Kickstarter as a company but for its employees as well, allowing us to do our best work, just as productively, over the long-term.
“We are proud to support the members of Kickstarter United in their fight to bring pay equity to their workforce and their efforts to codify their four-day work week. This is about fair pay and stability for workers. We won’t back down until management does right by our members,” said Nick Galipeau, Secretary-Treasurer, OPEIU Local 153.
The current 3-year agreement covering 59 community support specialists, trust and safety analysts, marketing professionals, software engineers, and other tech workers expired in July 2025. The KSRU bargaining committee has bargained with Kickstarter management since April 2025 to reach a tentative agreement. Negotiations at the table have slowed on compensation and working hours articles. Management has rejected every proposal for a minimum salary and insists on retaining the right to return to a five-day, 40-hour workweek. The current four-day workweek allows flexibility for members and it’s the reason many agreed to join Kickstarter in the first place. Legislation has also been introduced in the New York State Assembly that would establish a four-day week pilot program. The call for a minimum salary of $85,000 corresponds with what is considered Low Income in New York City ($87,100 for 2024).
Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest addresses the rally.
“As the sponsor of legislation calling for a four day work week, because our bodies deserve leisure, our bodies deserve rest, our bodies deserve creativity. We don’t deserve to be micromanaged, that’s what we are fighting for in my bill because we need to protect our workforce. The time is here, the time is now to tell management to Kick Rocks,” said Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest, District 57.
“Kickstarter workers deserve more than poverty wages in one of the most expensive cities in the world. They are fighting for a fair minimum salary that reflects New York’s reality, and management’s refusal to meet that demand is unacceptable,” said Brendan Griffith, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “On top of that, the company is trying to reserve the right to force changes to established working conditions without negotiating with the union. That’s not how collective bargaining works. The NYC Labor Movement stands with Kickstarter United in demanding a contract that guarantees fair pay and respect on the job.”
To view the entire press conference, click here.
ABOUT KICKSTARTER UNITED
On February 18th, 2020, Kickstarter employees voted to form a union and became the first major tech company in the United States to do so. We took this step in order to invest deeply in our collective future at the company we love, to create a workplace that is safer and more equitable for all, and to support organizing efforts across the tech industry and the many creative communities our work touches. We are proud to call ourselves members of OPEIU Local 153.
ABOUT OPEIU LOCAL 153
OPEIU is a union of more than 103,000 employees in technology, credit unions, hospitals, insurance agencies, colleges and universities, hotels, administrative offices, and more. As the founder of the Nonprofit Employees United initiative, OPEIU supports thousands of nonprofit workers across the country in forming unions and negotiating strong contracts. OPEIU is committed to advancing economic justice for all working people.