Kickstarter will not voluntarily recognize its employee union

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/15/18627052/kickstarter-union-nlrb-election

by moate • 7 years ago

38 27 7 years ago

If Kickstarter will not voluntarily recognize the union, then the union should go on strike and remain on strike until Kickstarter recognizes them.

moate7• 7 years ago

Well yea, they're going to have a ton of options once organization is complete.

I think most of the CEO's comments about why they're not recognizing the union feel pretty standard from the management's standpoint.

glerk• 7 years ago

Kickstarter could give a bonus to everyone who does not join the strike, then fire everyone else and replace them. Sure, it could end up being more costly, but there are options.

CryptoPunk7• 7 years ago

The labor laws prevent them from doing that. It's this lack of contract liberty for one side of the negotiations between unions and employers what makes the effect of unions harmful.

moate7• 7 years ago

I have a feeling that a company like Kickstarter making a move like that isn't just "costly". Seems more like mutually assured destruction. The PR fallout of a move like that is going to cause some serious hiring problems going forward. Plus the loss of domain experience alone would be massive.

8675678386943• 7 years ago

The sad part is that someone thinks that starting a union is going to make anything better. If they unionize it's just an early death rattle for Kickstarter. I know they've got some shit going on, but this just adds gas to the fire.

moate7• 7 years ago

I think we're seeing the start of a push for Unionization in the tech sector. The old concepts of what a Union is supposed to be are starting to change, and the whole "power to the individual" culture in the industry is starting to lose some of its shine.

I don't see how labor organizing, in either this specific case or generally in the industry, is a bad thing. Yes, it makes it harder for kickstarter management, but that doesn't mean they'll crumble.

8675678386943• 7 years ago

The concepts of unions aren't changing. Unions as a whole are shrinking because the "power of all" has been found out to be bullshit. New sectors unionize and find out they make just as much money but are now shoe horned into group think and pay losing the ability to thrive as an individual which eventually just results in the lowering of quality, expectations and results. I don't know of a single good example of unionization in the tech sector or in fact any new sector in the last 20 years that has resulted in positive outcomes. I'd love to see an example if there is.

CryptoPunk7• 7 years ago

Labor organizing is a bad thing because laws as they stand allow unions to over-ride the contract liberty of companies. This gives them enormous power that lets them engage in rent-seeking behaviour. There is plenty of economic scholarship on the efficiency hit companies take from unionization, and plenty of anecdotal examples of major American industries crumbling after coming under the thumb of powerful unions.

duxup2• 7 years ago

It would be interesting exactly what sort of union some tech worker groups are planning on working on / how they think it would operate.

My experience with US unions is that they're largely just another layer of bureaucracy that can be as unresponsive as any management structure, and in many cases you can't quit the union in the sense that you still work in the system / rules they negotiate. The reliance on seniority in US unions (granted not all do) tend to result in limited prospects for new people and protections for older workers who often see little value in expanding skills since time alone provides all the protection / advancement they need.

Also the exact protections you get from a union are negotiated and not necessarily what you want / expect ...

gamblor9563• 7 years ago

Not sure why FUD like this keeps popping up every time a tech company workforce wants to unionize.

There are many different types of unions. The types of unions that organize low-wage workers aren't the same unions that organize high-wage workers or workers in talent-based fields like Hollywood, music, etc.

Workers choose what they want the union to be, and how it is organized, as part of unionizing.

TAForObvReasons• 7 years ago

Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

s/Socialism/Unions/; s/America/Tech/; s/poor/workers/; s/millionaires/billionaire founders/

CryptoPunk7• 7 years ago

Any time someone criticizes unions, these conspiracy theories pop up. No one is spreading FUD. They're relaying their experiences with unions, which in no way contradicts your statement that there are many types of unions.

duxup2• 7 years ago

As someone with experience the idea that the workers choose is a bit laughable.

Once established the union is largely inflexible and not likely or able renegotiate the structure... that is just how it works historically.

Folks mentioning it isn't just FUD because you don't agree, for some of us it's experience.

Kickstarter will not voluntarily recognize its employee union

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