Etsy sellers are starting a ‘union’ to fight policies they say hurt merchants
When a group of Etsy sellers announced in March that they would temporarily shut down their shops to protest changes on the platform, organizers made a promise: the strike was just the first step.
Now, following the week-long strike and small concessions by Etsy, organizers have formed the Indie Sellers Guild, a nonprofit they hope will function as an advocacy organization for anyone who sells handmade, vintage, and craft goods online.
“We are modeling ourselves after a union as much as possible, with the same goals as a more traditional union and other organized labor movements,” says Chiarra Lohr, interim secretary-treasurer of the guild who has also worked on organizing the guild and drafting the bylaws. “We are very bottom-up,...