Why A Blogger’s Union Won’t Fly

September 2nd, 2007

TechnologyThis subject is rather old, but I figure I should get this post out there since it’s been hanging out in draft form for quite some time. Let me state that I do think unions are valuable and have their place. Here’s how I see unions forming and why they’re important:

  1. Company employs a bunch of workers, many of which do pretty much the same repetitive, interchangeable task day after day.
  2. Company takes advantage of the workers, paying them “crappy wages” believing there is nowhere else for the employees to seek employment, or that the employees are easily replaceable.
  3. The reality is company would actually be up crap creek if the workers banded together and quit working.
  4. Workers organize, form a union, and go on strike to get abusive company to increase their wages.
  5. The company realizes it can’t function without the workers, wages are raised, and work resumes.

Basically, the blogosphere doesn’t fit the old-world relationship of workers and employees.

  1. Many bloggers already have day jobs that pay the bills, hence the concept of “crappy wage” is irrelevant.
  2. The vast majority of bloggers, through their own blogs, barely make enough for coffee a day, so even the “crappy wage” paid by a blog employer is an improvement.
  3. The blogging barrier of entry is so low that there’s an infinite supply of replacement bloggers - certainly more than the demand, keeping wages down.
  4. Most bloggers do it for the love of writing and are indifferent to the money. Work is usually defined as paying people to do something that nobody would do for free (i.e. picking up garbage). Again, because there are so many bloggers willing to work for a “crappy wage” it keeps wages down.
  5. If the bloggers that did work for companies went on strike, I don’t think it would have much effect because there are so many other independent blogs for readers to read and the aforementioned infinite supply of bloggers or bloggers willing to work for a “crappy wage” could easily be tapped to replace them.

Essentially, the largest demonstration (and negotiation tactic) of unions to prove their worth is a strike. With blogging, who would the strike be against? Google AdSense? And with the infinite number of “scabs” I don’t think the large scale shutting down of blogs would impact anybody.

Now… I’ve only been blogging for a year but this much I have observed (from my arm chair economist perspective): there isn’t enough demand out there in the economic relationship to the supply where blogging demands a liveable wage from one employer. We all want to be paid a living wage doing what we love, but honestly, there are so many fun “jobs” (champion sleeper, video game player, professional couch potato) where there is no shortage of workers, therefore subverting a liveable wage. Blogging is, by and large, still a hobby - not a profession.

To understand what I’m getting at, if a particular group of amateur, hobby knitters went on strike, how would this impact the clothing industry? Not much.

Second, I would add that the mindset of most bloggers is of the self-employed than wage-slave. I think most bloggers value the freedom to write their own blogs, ship articles around to wherever, and write what they like from the comfort of home. Think “contract” or “freelance” employee. It seems one way to make a go at earning a living from blogging is to write for several different blogs including your own - not tied to one employer and likely have the ambition of working for themselves.

But ultimately, the biggest barrier to a blogger’s union is this: gathering a coalition of bloggers - who are opinionated and as varied as the types of birds on Pacific islands - would be like herding cats. Contract negotiations would be a nightmare. As we’ve already seen, the mere suggestion of a blogger’s union, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t gained any traction.

Instead of this union talk, perhaps there’s a place starting a blog network that pays bloggers a full-time salary (benefits), plus ad revenue sharing part of the employment contract. Basically an “online newspaper” where the reporters and writers write blogs. If most bloggers are being paid a “crappy wage” then you should have no problem attracting tons of great writers. This is something I’ve considered as a solution to withering newspapers.

Of course, the costs on the business side of this mythical blogging company would be another story altogether. But that doesn’t sound like anything a couple million in VC money couldn’t fix.

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Viewing 7 Comments

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    I'm totally open to different perspectives, although what was the decision that led you to take on full time blogging? Second, I still believe number 5 is true. If bloggers really think that they are underpaid, I suggest they band together and go on strike. That should prove to your employer your economic value, and hence validating the concept of a union.
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    The decision that lead me to being a full time blogger was really only that the opportunity was there, and I had no better career opportunities in sight. I agree that number five is still true, though a strike would only mean not getting paid, and when blogging pays the mortgage, car payments and food... there is just no way to "band together and strike".

    I am lucky enough though that I get paid well enough that I don't need a union or any type of group to help support me.
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    I think for a limited amount of bloggers a union might be welcomed, although the amount of bloggers which actually makes an income to live from is just so minimal. If I'd place my guesses on any figure it would probably not come on any higher than 1/10k blogs on the net which actually makes enough money to keep yourself alive with.

    The lot of the bloggers though of which I'm definitely one as well probably couldn't care less about a union, it wouldn't serve any additional purpose :).
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    That's cool - Dave you easily made the top commentators list. Honestly, I would totally be happy if one could make a decent living blogging. But it seems like the economics are a little askew right now - probably because blogging is relatively new. I would be happy if someone proved me wrong.
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    I agree that it can be difficult to get to the sweet spot with blogging, but again, I fall back on networking, and getting in with a blog network (one that doesn't pay per post!). Michael, who writes on a variety of Bloggy Network sites, was picked up after only like two months of writing on his own, thanks to his passion, and networking abilities.

    Get in with a network, get them to agree to a flat fee, as you are worth that. Start small, and go from there. :)
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    I'm with you all the way ... there are so many new blogs everyday, the system would never run out of blogging 'scabs' if there were 'unions' in the first place. And wages, oh my yes, I get so sad when I see new bloggers who think there is huge money in posting whatever they want to (do they want to be the next Perez Hilton?).
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    I think a union has a place in a limited context. For example, an organized union could get group discounts for health insurance. And an organized union could boost up one ad network above another or boycott certain ads. A union could have a say in webmaster guidelines, too, for example, and legal help for freedom of the press and copyright law.

    It'd be more like a guild or an association than a union, but the principles of organization for group benefit are the same. I think you're conception of union is just a little too narrow.
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