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Saw a tweet yesterday about how YouTubers should unionize and it was in my head all night and morning. Should they? Could they? On one hand they aren't exactly employees. On other YouTube is responsible for many of their entire incomes. Where is the line between employee & user?Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +2 🙂
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It seems like a ridiculous idea on the surface. But aren't those contributing content to YouTube that is seen by millions the same as Uber drivers? Essentially freelance operators who use Uber as a platform, without them Uber couldn't work. Without Uber they might not work...Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood -1 🙁
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I think, except those strongly anti-union in the general sense, most agree Uber drives should be capable of collective bargaining with their platform. But if they are... isn't any user who makes a significant portion of their income on any platform capable of collective action?Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +4 🙂
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Especially in the case of YouTubers, whose livelihoods are indeed dependent on the actions, decisions, and prioritization of the company that runs their content, the company is responsible to them in a way very similar to direct employees...On twitter.com
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Mood +2 🙂
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You might say 'oh but contractors/freelancers don't get collective bargaining', but Gimlet's unionization attempt explicitly includes contractors. & it is clear from Facebook moderators issue that contractors are responsible directly to the company in the same way as employers...Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +3 🙂
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I really don't know enough about labor law here, but it does seem like YouTubers are experiencing all the standard negative effects of exploited labor. The traditional solution we have deployed to protect them is legislation and unionization...Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood 0
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What would a YouTuber union look like? Would it be more like the Freelancer's Union? Or could it be a full-on collective bargaining unit, arguing with Google over rules, algorithmic prioritization, and the site's emphasis on high frequency? What would a strike look like?Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +5 🙂
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The idea that platform content providers could unionize is just banging around in my head like crazy. It's so fundamentally outside what we think is possible but also its effects could be huge, not just on YouTube.Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +1 🙂
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If we're going to be gig-economized for the rest of our lives, perhaps new structures are needed? Perhaps users need to look at platforms less as products & more as governments/employers, entities w/which we need to negotiate as an organized group? Interesting world to imagine.Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +2 🙂