Workers at Grindr, the queer hookup app that declares itself “the world’s largest dating app” for gay, bi, queer, and trans people, announced last week that they’re unionizing with the Communications Workers of America, or CWA (Ziff Davis employees at Mashable, PCMag, and Lifehacker are also unionized under the CWA through the NewsGuild).
“Grindr employees are officially out of the closet and forming a union with [CWA],” CODE-CWA, a campaign to unionize tech workers within the CWA, tweeted.
The union, called Grindr United, cites legislative attacks on LGBTQ people and tech layoffs as reasons for organizing, Bloomberg reported.
“Over 297 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across the U.S. Now, more than ever, Grindr employees believe it is crucial to stand united [and] push back against these assaults on equality [and] inclusivity by joining together to exercise their power at work,” CODE-CWA tweeted.
Grindr workers announced the campaign during a scheduled all-hands on Zoom last week, according to Bloomberg, and filed a petition to unionize with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. Around 100 employees, including those in design, marketing, cloud engineering, quality assurance, and IT make up the proposed union; union staff has signed up the vast majority of these employees, Bloomberg reported.
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“We want to make sure that our voices are being heard at the highest levels of the organization so we can work to ensure all members of the LGBTQIA+ community can experience safety [and] joy whether at work, on the apps, or in the real world,” said Grindr product manager and organizing member Quinn McGee in a CODE-CWA tweet.
“We respect our employees’ rights and point of view, and we will continue to work together to make Grindr a great place to work for all,” a Grindr spokesperson emailed Mashable.
Grindr United comes at a time of growing union interest in the tech industry amid mass layoffs. It appears to be, however, one of the first if unions of dating app employees.
