Amy, the producer of Rebel Steps, was part of the historic union drive to create Kickstarter United, the first union in the modern tech industry. Hear the trailer for the kickstarter union podcast, an oral history project taking you behind the scenes of that campaign. Listen and subscribe at ksru.link.
Listen and subscribe the Oral History of the Kickstarter Union at ksru.link hosted by NYU Engelberg Center Live.
Learn more about Kickstarter United on their website.
Other Organizations doing tech labor organizing
Hi, I’m Amy, the producer of Rebel Steps. Besides producing this podcast, I also previously worked at the crowd funding site, Kickstarter. While I was there I had the honor of being a part of the historic union drive to create Kickstarter United, the first union in the modern tech industry. Another Kickstarter United organizer, Clarissa Redwine, is producing an oral history podcast, taking you behind the scenes of that campaign. You’ll get to hear the voices and perspectives of many organizers, including myself! So, if you’re interested in a deep dive of what collective action looks like in practice, listen and subscribe at ksru.link. That’s ksru.link. And stay tuned for the series trailer.
Trailer
Clarissa: Across the US, tech workers are getting organized. We’re starting to learn from each other and fight for each other.
Karlee: If we’re talking about these things, honestly together then like we can name. And we can identify them and we can fight for change.
Toy: I’m here, we’re here, you’re not alone in this, we’re all here with you.
Clarissa: But what does collective action look like in practice? What does it take to build worker power? I’ve asked dozens of my fellow organizers from Kickstarter United to create a birds eye view of the union drive through a chorus of our voices and perspectives.
Amy: Kickstarter, in and of itself is about collective action. Right. It’s like the platform is about coming together to do something that someone couldn’t do on their own. And you hired a bunch of people that think that’s cool. And they unionized and you’re surprised.
Organizer: That’s a hard and really weird lesson to learn. That’s a weird journey to go on, to realize that a place that’s already great and still strive to be better than it is.
Sarah: I literally at one point, my jaw, literally, physically dropped it was though shocking the stuff that he was saying.
Taylor: Forming a union signing this card feels risky sounds risky but it doesn’t even compare to the risk and danger that we let ourselves be in If we work without protection if we let management have that power to constructively terminate or to fire us for no reason, with no recourse and nothing to show for it. Letting that situation stand working under those conditions. That’s risky….
Clarissa: This September, workers are taking control of the narrative and sharing that really happened. I cannot wait to share the journey with you. We’re in this together. Solidarity forever.