White-collar, high-tech workers at Kickstarter in Brooklyn have voted 47-36 for union representation by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. (Five eligible voters did not vote.) The trailblazing win could inspire similar employees in the tech industry to channel their social activism and agitation for better working conditions to union organizing.

OPEIU is not the only union targeting the tech industry. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has launched an industry-wide campaign to unionize workers in the video gaming and tech industries.

Employees at Kickstarter, which included highly paid software engineers, formed their own labor organization – Kickstarter United – and affiliated with the OPEIU. Kickstarter is privately held, but it is also a public benefit corporation. That means its business purpose is dual: achieving a return for investors and providing a benefit to the community. This can give workers a platform to advocate for change both inside and outside the traditional prerogatives of labor: wages, benefits, and conditions of employment. Indeed, the Kickstarter United’s website states that the organization’s goals are a blend of old and new worker issues:

  • Pay inequities
  • Diversity and inclusion in hiring, professional growth, and products
  • Due process for discipline and performance reviews based on clear expectations and objective criteria
  • Preserving a company culture that nurtures a sense of community
  • Inclusion of workers in company decision making

One former Kickstarter employee-organizer said, “We wanted power in product decisions, certainty in the terms of our employment, and power to question management when needed.” A dispute between management and employees over the funding of a project for a satirical comic book called Always Punch Nazis originally prompted the organizing.

Employees at several high-tech companies have engaged in workplace walkouts and other activities to express their reaction to workplace issues, such as alleged sexual harassment, pay disparities, and working conditions. In addition, they also have spotlighted social issues like climate change and work with governments and fossil fuel companies. While the latter traditionally have not often been the basis for union organizing or topics of collective bargaining, they underscore a common theme of the labor movement since the 1880s: employees’ desire to have a meaningful a voice on matters important to them at work. High-tech employers – along with other employers – may want to catalogue the opportunities their employees have to provide meaningful input on issues of concern to their employees, both bread-and-butter concerns and socially conscious aspirations.

Please feel free to contact a member of the firm’s Labor Practice Group or other Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss these topics.

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Photo of Patrick L. Egan Patrick L. Egan

Patrick L. Egan is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Patrick works in traditional labor law.

He has assisted employers in all industries in all phases of union organizing campaigns. Patrick has represented employers in card-signing efforts and…

Patrick L. Egan is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Patrick works in traditional labor law.

He has assisted employers in all industries in all phases of union organizing campaigns. Patrick has represented employers in card-signing efforts and representation and decertification campaigns. He has conducted union awareness and positive employee relations training for hundreds of companies and employer groups. He has also assisted dozens of employers to preempt, prepare for and defend against union corporate campaigning.

Patrick has appeared for employers in representation, objections and challenged ballot hearings at the National Labor Relations Board. He has also represented employers in unfair labor practice charge investigations and trials. Patrick has also represented employers before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other state and federal agencies. Patrick has served as chief spokesman at hundreds of collective bargaining negotiations, including negotiations seeking a first contract and those aimed at reaching a successor contract. He speaks frequently before various employer and human resources groups on a variety of labor relations topics.

Patrick was a four-year starter and a senior captain of the varsity soccer team at Holy Cross.

After practicing management-side labor law at smaller firms in Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts, Patrick joined Jackson Lewis in 1990. He was elected a partner effective January 1, 1995.

Photo of Richard F. Vitarelli Richard F. Vitarelli

Richard F. Vitarelli is a principal in the Hartford, Connecticut, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is the co-leader of the Labor Relations practice group, the firm’s national labor practice.

Photo of Jonathan J. Spitz Jonathan J. Spitz

Jonathan J. Spitz is a principal in the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and co-leader of the firm’s Labor Relations practice group.