Zoomba posted an article over at Wincustomize which I just ran across that has left me flabbergasted.
You have unions in a lot of industries nowadays; automobile manufacturing, resource mining, airline staffing etc. However, unions are something that have been slow to expand into more white-collar fields such as information technology. A few years ago a push began to unionize IT operations roles, and other tasks that can require long hours for no additional pay or compensation. The latest group to the "We should unionize!" party though is a little out of the ordinary. People are talking about forming a union for Bloggers.
You must be frigging joking. I hate unions. I repeat, I HATE! unions. There was a time in our recent past in the United States when we needed unions to protect workers and make sure that they were paid properly and keep children and other low wage workers out of the factories. That time is no more. Capitalism rules and the people who work hardest and smartest make the most money. Sorry suckers, that's just the way it is.
It gets better.
Well, a group of bloggers feel they need to have stronger bargaining rights, a set of professional standards, and an easier time of getting better health insurance rates. Strength in numbers.
Bwahhahaha. WTF are they going to do if they don't get better health insurance rates and bargaining rights, stop blogging? One can only hope. Hey bloggers here's a clue. If you do make your living on the Internet welcome to the world of entrepreneurism and sole ownership corporations. Just because you sit on your ass spouting nonsense doesn't make you any damn better than any of the rest of us struggling to make ends meet and that comes from someone who is padding his earnings by making money online.
The original article is published at the Los Angeles Times and can be found here. One paragraph in and I understand what is going on completely.
In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers is trying to band together to form a labor union it hopes will help members receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.
AHA! Left-leaning bloggers my aching ass. A bunch of damned communists and socialists (yes, Virginia there is a difference between the two) trying to force us to guarantee something to them whether they work hard or not. Bite me. If I enjoy what you are writing I will visit your site, thereby gaining you ad traffic and once or twice a week, if I really like you I will click on the damn ads. I certainly don't consider myself a Shakespeare of the Internet but if any of the guys that I do consider the best of the best were to unionize I would puke like I had just drank a bunch of Chatham Artillery Punch and my eyes would roll back in ma head like a poan star.
Here is a really fun part of the article as well...
Organizers hope a bloggers' labor group will showcase not only the growing professionalism of the Web-based writers but also the importance of their roles in candidates' campaigns.
"I think people have just gotten to the point where people outside the blogosphere understand the value of what it is that we do on the progressive side," said Susie Madrak, author of the Suburban Guerrilla blog, who is active in the union campaign. "And I think they feel a little more entitled to ask for something now."
Now I see. The normal folks that aren't bloggers need to know just how important you think you are and give you money. Just like a bunch of damned left-wing whining maggots.
You want more money as a writer? Sell a damn book. That's exactly what my brother does and if I could string two coherent paragraphs together I might too.
This is being cross-posted at Shadowscope and Miles Business Blog, and hopefully Indie Bloggers as well. This is also my open track-back post for Monday August 6th.
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Oh my loving LORD! My brother was telling me heard something about this, and I almost went ballistic. Who pays them? I do this for free. I thought you had to have wages before you could claim 'unfair pay'! BTW, why don't they just buy their own health insurance instead of digging into my pocket? Hmm?
I'm getting so tired of the Communist tripe. It is not, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs"! We live in a market economy, THANK GOD. Man, where did these people go to school?
If they're learning this crap here, I propose we close down each and every one of these schools. Let the free-market and local governments handle it. The way they used to...
Great post. ;)
"And I think they feel a little more entitled to ask for something now."
The key word here is 'entitled'. This is the typical philosophy of entitlement.
Those people think they are owed something for taking up breath on the earth, for crying out loud!
They need to work for a living like the rest of us. And, like you said, if they want to make money writing, sell a book, sell articles, etc.
Shall we form our own Bloggers Association?
Scabs_R_Us ? ';-)
We already have one. It's called the Axis of Asshole.