Several Kickstarter United members have been laid off three months after labor strike
The union alleges that this is an act of retaliation by Kickstarter management.
Three months ago, Kickstarter United resolved a six-week long strike over its workers’ second contract following successful negotiations with Kickstarter management. The union has now alleged that multiple union members have since been subject to anti-union retaliation. According to Kickstarter United, four members who played an active role in the labor strike have been laid off, with an additional member forced out of the bargaining unit.
“On February 11, 2026, Kickstarter management announced that they would be terminating four union members and forcing several others out of the bargaining unit. The company failed to provide a business-need justification for these terminations,” said a spokesperson for the Office and Professional employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 in a press release.
In an email to Rascal, shop steward Zak Thompson shared that while Kickstarter management attributed the terminations to a reorganization effort, the terminated positions have been given to employees outside of the bargaining unit, including contractors who are using artificial intelligence (AI) to perform their duties. Internally, employees in the affected department were given a presentation on their new team structures that explained this change is backed by “high level reasoning”, with the topic of why certain roles were eliminated explicitly avoided. Thompson characterized Kickstarter’s internal response as a “department level approach to communication”.
In addition, an employee who had undertaken a “very visible role in last year’s contract negotiations” was presented by Kickstarter management with a false dilemma: they had been given a choice to be laid off, or otherwise accept a lateral move into management with no increase in pay. What seems like a promotion would disqualify the employee from union protections, a common union-busting tactic. At the same time, Jason Featheringham, one of the union members fired by Kickstarter, stated in the press release that Kickstarter had “created a brand new team to own the design system I built and maintained, handed my work over to outside contractors using AI, and called it a business decision”.
To seek an immediate end to the retaliation, Kickstarter United has filed Unfair Labour Practice (ULP) charges with the National Labour Relations Board in the US. The union has also informed Rascal that it’s demanding that terminated union members have their positions reinstated. “We are not going to stand by and allow our union siblings to lose their livelihoods in a blatant act of retaliation against them for legally protected strike activity without a fight. Kickstarter—do the right thing and reinstate our colleagues,” said Thompson.
Kickstarter remains the largest platform for crowdfunding tabletop projects across a broad range of size and scope, ranging from stapled A5 zines to massive board games full of plastic miniatures. Polygon reported in 2024 that the tabletop sector brought in roughly $220 million in 2024, and while that figure fell in 2025 it still outperformed growing competitors such as Backerkit and Gamefound. The public benefit corporation introduced its AI policy in 2023 but has kept a largely hands-off approach to policing the use of AI in projects hosted on its platform.
Meanwhile, Kickstarter responded to Rascal’s inquiry on the layoffs with the following statement: “I can confirm that we have no other planned team changes and our use of technology and contractors is consistent with our contractual obligations and has not undermined the bargaining unit. We continue to work closely with our team to ensure compliance with our collective bargaining agreement.”
Thompson said, “We have deep respect and love for the creators who rely on our platform,” and Kickstarter United shared that it isn’t encouraging a boycott against the crowdfunding site at this time. Instead, the union urged supporters to email Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor (e@kickstarter.com) “to demand the reinstatement of laid off employees” and sign an open petition to that effect. Together with OPEIU Local 153, Kickstarter United will conduct a virtual rally on Friday, 27 February, at 12PM ET. Supporters who wish to join the rally can register for the event here.
