Kickstarter has managed to make headlines on certain outlets due to their insistence on adhering to labor laws and not immediately giving in to the demands of the managers who wanted to organize unions in secret. The CEO of the company posted a public response to some outlets, acknowledging that they’re not entirely adverse to a union, but that it would have to be done the right way and through a vote handled by the National Labor Relations Board.

It started back on September 12th, 2019 when news outlets began reporting that two employees at Kickstarter, Taylor Moore and Clarissa Redwine. According to Slate the firings were due to the duo attempting to organize a union at Kickstarter.

Typically, sites like Polygon, the Huffington Post, and Salon were quick to run to the defense of the pro-union employees.

This was followed by follow-ups, where outlets like Current Affairs – who supported and garnered support from Anita Sarkeesian – took Kickstarter to task for not embracing unions and for allegedly firing staff for trying to start a union behind shareholders’ backs.

Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan sent a response to news outlets in addition to publishing the same response on the Kickstarter blog on September 27th, 2019 to clear the air, first addressing that the two workers weren’t fired for trying to start a union, writing…

“This month, we made the difficult decision to part ways with two members of our team. This is particularly tough at a small company like ours where most of us work closely and collaboratively at our Brooklyn headquarters. Both of these employees were members of the organizing committee, as are other current staff members. This had nothing to do with their terminations. We understood how these firings could be perceived, but it would be unfair to not hold these two employees to the same standards as the rest of our staff.

 

“We know that we are asking you to take us at our word. Some have asked us to provide proof that these firings were not related to organizing. For privacy reasons, we don’t think it’s right for us to publicly share that information. We will, however, respond to the charges filed with the NLRB by providing clear documentation, which stretches back before March, when the organizing effort became public.”

This still didn’t sate the activists.

They continued to set Kickstarter up as some sort of social justice target, with outlets like Current Affairs writing…

“Kickstarter has made its position clear. It is against unions. It opposes its workers’ effort to organize. It will not be changing its mind. It will be fighting its own staff and its project creators. Now, Kickstarter’s users must make their position clear. We will not tolerate union-busting. We will not give our money to a company that does it. We demand that the company reverse its position and commit to voluntarily recognizing the union if a majority of workers signal support. The company is taking its workers and users for granted. If they get away with it, other companies will feel even more empowered to crush their own organizing efforts. It is critically important that Kickstarter be loudly opposed.”

If you actually read the missive on the Kickstarter blog, Hasan makes it known that they’re actually not entirely against a union.

He explains that unions can create an antagonist working environment for a company, and that if they can avoid it they will. He also goes on to say that they would prefer doing unions right by including a secret vote by all the staff to determine who actually wants to unionize and who doesn’t, as opposed to allowing managers to make that decision for staff.

Hasan wrote…

“Our staff has been divided on whether a union is right for them. And early on we had to step in when we learned that managers were involved in the organizing effort, in violation of labor rules. For those reasons, we’ve been clear that a secret-ballot election, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, is the only way forward that respects the rights of every member of our staff, and gives everyone a voice. We’ve said that if we are asked to voluntarily recognize the union, we’ll decline, and advocate for an election to protect the integrity of the process.

 

“We have shared our perspective, in a staff meeting and follow-up Q&A session, that we don’t think a union is the best tool to fix the issues we face at Kickstarter. We believe it’s important for employees to hear that perspective, so they can make an informed decision. We’ve limited our statements so we don’t unduly influence or pressure the staff. Our perspective on this issue is born out of our work to build a new model for how a company can operate responsibly in society.”

So they’re against voluntary unionizing, but they’re not against staff voting on whether they want a union or not. Still, the head honcho doesn’t think a union is what’s best for business.

Media activists pining for a return to Communism hate that a company isn’t instantly bowing down to their whims. Of course, Hasan is likely thinking about staying in business as opposed to making a rash decision to accommodate the Left’s whimsy and end up on the Get Woke; Go Broke master list.

(Thanks for the news tip msd)