Kickstarter's Employees Need Your Support
For those of you who have not heard the word, Kickstarter United-OPEIU's 153 workers went on strike on September 26, 2025. Why? To quote the union press release: "The key issues: protecting Kickstarter's existing four-day, 32-hour workweek and establishing a minimum salary that provides a livable wage." You can read the press release to learn more.
A number of union members joined Kickstarter under the four-day, 32-hour workweek, and they wish to continue that. While I cannot speak for the union workers, I 100% support paying all workers a living wage and, if the deal changes, properly compensating those workers for their hours worked.
As I said, I cannot speak for the union workers. You can, though, by reading and signing the petition posted here.
This petition is for supporters of the Kickstarter platform, so if you have ever backed a project, your signature is welcome.
However, although I cannot speak for the union workers, I can speak for Kickstarter creators. I served on the Kickstarter Creator Advisory Committee for its first session, and I recently rejoined for a second term. Additionally, I have now run more successful Kickstarter campaigns than any other creator (and I just launched my 113th project a few days ago), and that's just under my personal account. It does not include campaigns I've worked on (or consulted on) for others. I know the platform, and Kickstarter is stronger with a healthy union than without it. I believe so strongly in this that when the union asked for my support, I drafted the petition for Kickstarter creators. If you are a creator, please show your support. Creators can find the petition – and other ways to help – right here.
Thank you. Although I am not part of the union or a Kickstarter employee, I am 100% behind both the union workers and the Kickstarter platform. Many of us – both creators and backers – benefit from the strength of Kickstarter's tools, reach, and promotional power, and all of that requires the skilled union workers. With your help, we can end this strike and let the employees return to what they most wish to be doing right now: helping creators use the crowdfunding site that elevated the practice from the shadows and turned it into an incredible sales and marketing tool that allows creators to produce things that would have never happened without the backers' support.
A number of union members joined Kickstarter under the four-day, 32-hour workweek, and they wish to continue that. While I cannot speak for the union workers, I 100% support paying all workers a living wage and, if the deal changes, properly compensating those workers for their hours worked.
As I said, I cannot speak for the union workers. You can, though, by reading and signing the petition posted here.
This petition is for supporters of the Kickstarter platform, so if you have ever backed a project, your signature is welcome.
However, although I cannot speak for the union workers, I can speak for Kickstarter creators. I served on the Kickstarter Creator Advisory Committee for its first session, and I recently rejoined for a second term. Additionally, I have now run more successful Kickstarter campaigns than any other creator (and I just launched my 113th project a few days ago), and that's just under my personal account. It does not include campaigns I've worked on (or consulted on) for others. I know the platform, and Kickstarter is stronger with a healthy union than without it. I believe so strongly in this that when the union asked for my support, I drafted the petition for Kickstarter creators. If you are a creator, please show your support. Creators can find the petition – and other ways to help – right here.
Thank you. Although I am not part of the union or a Kickstarter employee, I am 100% behind both the union workers and the Kickstarter platform. Many of us – both creators and backers – benefit from the strength of Kickstarter's tools, reach, and promotional power, and all of that requires the skilled union workers. With your help, we can end this strike and let the employees return to what they most wish to be doing right now: helping creators use the crowdfunding site that elevated the practice from the shadows and turned it into an incredible sales and marketing tool that allows creators to produce things that would have never happened without the backers' support.
-- Philip Reed