Grindr, the popular LGBTQ hookup app, is now facing unfair labor practice charges filed by the newly organized labor union representing its 200 employees.
The union, Grindr United, announced its existence on July 20. On August 3, their employer told workers in the US that they must begin to report for in-office work.
US-based workers would be expected work at least two days a week from a hub in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Chicago, New York, or Washington, DC, the company said, or leave and take 2—6 months of severance pay.
Workers had two weeks to decide. According to the union, 80 quit. Wired magazine reported that the return-to-office ultimatum pushed out eight openly Trans employees.
Many had been hired by Grindr during the COVID pandemic and lived far from those brick-and-mortar offices, meaning they would have had to relocate to comply with the employer's demands.
Because of Grindr's customer base, the company has been a haven for LGBTQ workers in the tech industry.
The union has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that Grindr's policy was retaliation for union organizing, and that the firm's severance packages illegally silence workers.
"It is unimaginably disappointing that dozens of our colleagues have had to leave their jobs because Grindr management did not want to sit down with workers and respect our right to organize," Erick Cortez, an organizing member of Grindr United, said in a statement.
The Communication Workers of America (CWA), the parent union of Grindr United, called the policy "retaliatory and union-busting" and said that the 80 workers who quit "were forced to resign."
A Grindr spokesperson said the charges have "no merit." Grindr CEO George Arison wrote that "virtually all the leading technology companies" are opting for hybrid in- and out-of-office work, and Grindr is "following their learnings."
Nevertheless, the in-office work order was a reversal of Grindr policy. In a March SEC filing, the company praised its remote team. "Our workforce is currently remote-first," the document says. "This allows us to find the right talent to serve our users, regardless of location."
Grindr recently returned to US ownership after four years as a subsidiary of Chinese gaming giant Kunlun. When the US government labeled the foreign ownership arrangement a "national security threat," Kunlun sold Grindr to San Vicente Acquisitions LLC for $608.5 million.