Should Bloggers Create A Labor Union?
by
on August 06, 2007,
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the possibility of a labor union for bloggers. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal found that there is a "coalition of left-wing bloggers" trying to form a labor union with hopes that such a group will aid them in the process of receiving health benefits and conducting collective bargaining.
The biggest concern and cause for the "union talk" is probably best described by David Krug who writes that "one of the issues that particularly has troubled me in the last few years is how blog networks pay their bloggers. Most of them offer a percentage of profits that a blog makes rather than paying by the post, or one of many what I consider more ethical alternatives."
Here at Profy, writers are lucky enough to get paid per post, but, in my recent search for blogging positions, there are several out there that do not pay in this way. A few of the blogs that I came across only offered to compensate writers with the revenue that the ads on each of their article's pages generates. This is not a very lucrative method and does not entice potential bloggers to choose these sites to write for.
I agree with Tony Hung of Blog Herald who believes that "there is a certain level of personal maturation when it comes to blogging. That is, if you’ve been doing this for any amount of time at all, you’ll realize that its a very time intensive activity." For the amount of work done, the pay that bloggers receive is no where near comparable to the pay of, say, a journalist.
So why then is the pay rate for bloggers so low? Right now, I believe that it is because there are so many blogs and bloggers out there who do it all for love and for free. Keeping in mind the fact that the majority of bloggers do it for a hobby, most people are willing to accept any amount of pay that they can receive for something they do not consider work. It's just a side job for extra income.
According to TechCrunch , "Most people contributing to new media sites, including user generated sites such as About.com and Mahalo do so on a contractual basis. Most content creators do not work under employer/ employee relationships, most are paid without tax being deducted; in the most these are not regular style jobs."
As a freelance worker for both Profy and Mahalo myself, I believe that there is a bigger market for full-time, telecommuting jobs such as blogging. The blogosphere is still growing and there are numerous networks that have already established themselves as companies. These facts alone should show that blogging has the potential to become a valid profession with a paycheck to match.
Hopefully a bloggers union would make blog networks and companies more aware that benefits and better pay could result in better employee loyalty and, therefore, more interesting content from satisfied "full-time" writers.
Duncan Riley said it best by stating, "As long as the supply of labor that will accept low rates exists, no amount of organization will create a marketplace that provides pay rates that are equal to that of comparable fields."
I am all for a bloggers union… or at least Ryan Caldwell's idea of a "Premium Blogger Collective."
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Svetlana Gladkova
Opensource 
Michael Fidler 
This is, IMHO, the dumbest idea I have ever heard of.
The problem with blogging as a profession is that any person off the street thinks they can blog well. Sure, anyone can sign up for a free Blogger or WordPress account and start blogging, which is why the saturation level of people willing to do it for free or little money is where it is.
Case in point: these folks are so out of touch with the actual writing industry that they fail to understand that paid bloggers are FREELANCERS, and there are already several unions out there for writers and freelancers. Blogging isn’t an industry unto itself any more than writing press releases is.
All this move does is make bloggers look like a bunch of unprofessional idiots who have no idea what they are doing. No one is going to provide medical insurance for free, so if you aren’t making money at what you are doing, then you aren’t going to be able to afford union dues on TOP of medical insurance.
I think Bloggers should be PAID!
whatta Concept!!
;))
The people who write poorly, or who choose to stay with a bad choice of blog networks (like 451 or Suite) in spite of the low pay DESERVE to get paid less. It keeps the market competitive for the writers that write well and research what they write, etc. We don’t need a union. http://smokeringsandcoffeestains.com/?p=277
The idea of unionized bloggers is obviously an idea contrived by a select group of bloggers who are:
A) Afraid of a little honest competition
B) Oblivious to the pitfalls and dangers of such a body once they are in power.
Having past involvement with such unions as the Labours Union, Service Workers International, UAW and CUPE I have seen nothing of value for the monthly fees I had to pay. There have been some benefits but not enough to warrant my full support.
I will be the first to admit that occasionally the local chapters upheld a high-level of both competence and concern for the members. Any support beyond the local chapter was often no better and often worse the company they were supposedly protecting you from.
I have been in unions where the representative (not elected by the local chapter who had no say) created sweetheart deals with the company where by the company gave kick-backs to the union at the employees expense.
I have threatened by mafia types in silk suites to join or else. Once we joined, they refused the members any form of aid when under attack by other unions; but ensured you paid your dues just the same.
Unions, in my opinion, have become what they once fought against. They have become a business too themselves at the expense of the working people.
I work hard at my freelance position and while I may not be able to demand high wages and benefits; medical, dental; the fruits of my labour are mine. I choose whom I will or will not work for on any given project.
I respect and demand competition because it keeps me honest and forces me to hone my skills.
If you need someone else telling, you how to run your business then form a union. As for me, make it or break it, I only answer to me and if I fail I am to blame, not a union for whom I would have to pay to do it on my behalf.
I am not by any means a professional blogger, yet. Nevertheless, I will continue to work hard to become one and just as hard to ensure my ups and downs are not dictated by a self-profit motivated group of individuals