In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labour union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.The effort is an extension of the blogosphere's growing power and presence, especially within the political realm, and for many, evokes memories of the early labour organization of freelance writers in the early 1980s.
To wield any power as an organized union, you need leverage. This usually involves the withholding of one's labour; sometimes enhanced with some muscle on the picket line. We pause here to giggle at this mental image.
They can't shut down the Internet, and there's no shortage of people willing to replace them. And who is going to be seriously affected if, say, Daily Kos goes off the air?
Not me. The only time I bother to read it is when someone points out something obnoxious or outrageous appearing there. Actually I suspect that a few of the saner adults in the Democrat Party would be happy to see it vanish, too.
It's not exactly an elegant comparison, but I'm reminded of something that happened in Amsterdam in the '80s. The government there provides registered heroin addicts with free heroin and methadone. Nice work if you can get it, but the addicts were concerned about AIDS, which was just breaking out at the time and they wanted free, clean needles. Or they were going to go on strike.
Which would have entailed . . . what? They weren't going to shoot up? You won't be needing those free needles, then.
Sounds like a win-win to me.